It Takes a Genius
by Ionuneos
Summary: Professor Rowan's trusting Dawn and her new friend Dusk to help complete an age-old mission. This might be a little harder than usual...How about some help from Hoenn? Fortuneshipping, Hoennshipping, and AdvancedPocketshipping! Now rewritten! Slightly AU.
1. Let it Begin!

"MA."

A 14 year-old boy was perched on the sofa, TV remote in hand. It seemed that not even somebody knocking on their door would get him up. "SOME CREEPY OLD DUDE'S AT THE DOOR!!" he continued. He had peeked through the window, allowing him the somewhat accurate description.

The five-foot tall young man hadn't received much motivation to do much today. He was still in his blue nightclothes that he had worn to bed last night. His hair was messed up, and he most certainly wasn't ready for company.

"Young man! Watch who you're talking to!" A middle-aged woman dashed down the stairs one at a time, while also fumbling with her left earring. Unlike her son, she was quite ready for the day. She was clothed in a loose-fitting pink shirt with amber shorts. Her long, slender, brown hair was dangling over her right shoulder, tied in a ponytail. She walked to the door and opened it. "Professor Rowan, hi. I'm glad you could make it."

"_Professor Rowan? From Sandgem Town?_" The unexpected professional coming to his home was enough to make the lazy boy get up.

"Ah yes," the doctor replied. "Unfortunately, however, my time is short, so let's get started, hm?"

The TV was shut off as soon as the controller of it heard footsteps. Luckily, the doors in between the entryway and living room blocked the professor from ever seeing what was on.

As the doors swung open, the boy, still standing up, observed their guest. His grey hair was slightly unkempt, but it was too short to make a difference. His face was an expression of sternness and seriousness, causing the on-looker to cringe slightly. Continuing looking him over, the boy paid much attention to the Professor's labcoat, which reached almost all the way down to his heels. The coat was open, revealing an auburn sweater with brown, comfortable kackies that you wouldn't expect to see on a man at his status.

"I should leave you two alone," his mother stated before eagerly taking her leave.

The boy tried to stop his mother from leaving, but couldn't yell out in time. He knew what this man was like, and didn't want to be around him alone right now.

The guest looked around the room. The walls were painted white, the only thing breaking the colors up being a brick fireplace that wasn't lit. On the mantle were multiple pictures, all of which being of the mother, son, or a Growlithe, for some reason. In the center of the room lay a glass coffee table, surrounded by three chairs and a couch, the latter having a boy standing in front of it.

"Hello, young man. I hear that you're looking to become a Pokémon Trainer." Professor Rowan started the conversation.

"Wait, what!?" His heart began racing at the thought of having his own Pokémon, considering the subject hasn't been brought up in months.

Rowan impolitely gave himself a chair and sat down, resting the briefcase he was carrying on the floor beside him. "Your mother called me last week and explained that you've been 'bugging' her all the time to get a Pokémon," the Professor chuckled slightly at the use of the non-scientific term. "and she told me that you were of age, and asked if I could drop by."

"Y-Y-You're going to give me a Pokémon!?" the boy managed to mutter out. His excitement blinded him from seeing how childish that statement really was.

"First thing's first, m'boy," he said in a gruffer-than-usual voice. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Professor Rowan of Sandgem Town, which is just northeast of here."

"I-I'm Dusk..." The boy was still recovering from the sudden shock.

"I'm sorry, son, I'd like your actual name, if you would." Given the odd title, nobody could blame Rowan for his suspicion.

Dusk finally snapped out of it and began to explain his unusual name. "Er, well, my actual name is Umbreon."

"Mm. After the Pokémon?" the old man quizzed.

"Well, kinda, but probably not what you're thinking..." Dusk decided to begin the tale of his origins. "While walking one day, my great grandfather got attacked by some thugs, and if they didn't hand over everything he had, they were going to kill him and take it anyway..."

"Mm-hm..." Rowan was only half paying attention to the story. The other half went to a notebook that he had pulled out of his pocket.

"Luckily," he continued. "it was night. Usually night gives the enemies an advantage, but not when you have Umbreon to protect you!" the boy shouted with more energy then usual, causing him a bit of embarrassment after he realized it. "...A-Anyway, the generic villains didn't know he had the Umbreon, so while he stood still, the Pokémon took out the enemies, allowing my relative to continue on as if nothing had happened. I was named after that Umbreon, which had the nickname Dusk...so, I guess I just got it too!" he rubbed the back of his head, hoping he didn't screw anything in the story up.

"Ah. Interesting." Despite his words, Dusk couldn't help but feel that Rowan didn't care much about what he had just explained to him. "So, 'Dusk," Rowan began with obvious sarcasm on the use of Umbreon's unusual nickname. "Have you ever thought of what it might be like to be a Trainer?" Before Dusk could respond, the Professor continued. "I don't mean how 'cool' it'd be or anything like that. I mean the responsibilities necessary, like caring for your Pokémon, and making sure they're not hurt in battle."

Dusk moaned to himself, wishing the Professor wasn't so serious all the time. "Well, of course I have. I know that being a Trainer isn't all about fun."

Rowan shifted in his chair. "Mm. I must admit that I'm pleasantly surprised to hear that from you. Very well. What is your personal stance on this? Do you feel that you're ready to take on this responsibility?"

"Oh, um...I really do think I'm ready to raise my own Pokémon. I probably only need a month or something, and I'll be out of this house!"

It wasn't long after that when they both heard knocking on the door. "_Now who?_" Dusk whined to himself.

"Ah, it's about time she showed up," the Professor remarked.

"Who's 'she'?" the curious boy asked.

Rowan got up and answered the door himself. A moment after leaving the room, he came back with his hand on a girl's shoulder. They only partially entered the room. "Umbreon," the Pokémon Professor called out. "This is Dawn. She's my assistant. I told her to drop by when she was finished with other things. She'll be helping you prepare from now on. I must get back to work."

Dusk looked at the ceiling and smiled, realizing his prayers were answered, and the awkwardness was over.

"Dawn, this is...Dusk." Rowan cleared his throat after realizing the terrible pun he accidentally said. He looked at his helper and saw the girl biting her lip. "You'll do fine." Professor Rowan assured her. "Umbreon. It's been a pleasure. Stop by my laboratory tomorrow, and we'll...see what we can do." He smiled, which was admittedly creepy, and finally let himself out.

Dusk was lost, daydreaming about his first Pokémon. The sound of Dawn's shoes clacking against the floor was the only thing to snap him back to reality, causing him to realize there's a beautiful girl in the room. She was about his age and height, perhaps a few inches shorter. She was wearing a plain, yet lively white T-shirt with an unzipped black vest draped over it. As she sat down, she pushed her black and pink skirt off to the side, making it slightly more comfortable to sit. She was wearing pink boots, which accented her skirt further. Lastly, her snow white bandana covered most of her elegant midnight-blue hair.

"Um...hi..." Despite the Professor's words, nervousness could still be felt in Dawn's voice. She cleared her throat and shook it off, taking a notepad that the previous guest left on the table. "So, is your name Dusk, or Umbreon?"

A moment of silence passed. It took Dawn to forgo her notepad for a minute and look up at the boy, which broke him out of his stupor. "I'm sorry, what?" He rubbed his eyes, realizing he was blushing.

"Nevermind. We'll stick with Dusk for now. OK..." she checked something off on the paper. "Have you ever personally encounted--er, encountered a...Pokémon...?" Her voice trailed, leading to nowhere.

Dusk noticed she wasn't exhaling all the way. "Are you...okay?"

Dawn let out a sigh, finally returning her breathing to normal. "I'm sorry...I'm just so nervous. This is the first time the Professor's relied on me this much."

"Really? How long have you been working with him?" Dusk somehow managed to get the subject off of himself. He got off the couch and walked over to the fridge.

"This is just my second week. I try my hardest, but I just can't live up to his expectations..." Dawn was interrupted by a can of soda being held near her face. She could feel the icy temperature emitting from it.

"Well, with all due respect, he isn't exactly an easy person to please..." After his guest took the drink from his hand, Dusk sat back down and popped his own open.

"Have you met him before?" Dawn started tapping the top of the can.

"Nah, but I've read about him." He took a sip of the cola. "And from what I hear, he can be..." Dusk chose his words carefully, not knowing Dawn's and Rowan's relationship. "...A bit hard to get a compliment from."

"If that ain't the truth," Dawn confirmed with spunk, taking a drink. Dusk was surprised at the sudden comment, but didn't say anything. "Hey, Dusk, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead," he confirmed casually, taking another drink before setting the can on the coffee table.

"Where did you get names like 'Dusk' and 'Umbreon'?"

"Well, it'd probably bore you. I know it did the Professor. But if you really want to know..."

He repeated the story he had told earlier, this time, making sure he didn't embarrass himself.

"Wow, that's fascinating..." Dawn commented.

Dusk was relieved he finally found someone that atleast marginally cared. Or pretended to, at the very least.

"Er...maybe we could...take a walk?"

Dusk perked up, surprised by the sudden request. He stared at Dawn curiously.

"I mean, uhm...! To discuss you getting a Pokémon...! ...and that..." She hoped taking a large drink of soda would help the red color on her face that she got from embarrassment go away.

"Uh, sure, no problem. Let me go change." Dusk took one last sip and shot the empty can into the sink. After making sure he hit his target, he ran upstairs.

"_That was smooth, you freaking idiot!_" she thought, beating herself up inside.

A few moments later, footsteps could be heard running down the stairway. Dawn looked up to see Dusk had completely changed his outfit. He was in a black T-shirt. It looked like a small Pokéball icon was in the bottom corner, but the thin, maroon vest he had on blocked it from view. His legs were equipped with long and wrinkled black pants, extending all the way down to his feet. They were so long, the bottoms of them actually rested on his new-looking white running shoes that covered his previously bare feet. On the top of his head, however, was his defining feature; a red beret. He looked slightly awkward wearing it, but Dawn couldn't bring herself to mention anything. Lastly, a bright yellow backpack was slung over one arm, though it didn't look like there were many contents inside of it.

"Are you ready?" Umbreon asked, climbing down the last step.

"Oh, yeah! Sure." Dawn ignored the half-full can of soda she had left on the table and followed Umbreon out the door.

There was a moment of silence between the two after they had stepped outside. Dusk ended that. "So where do we go?"

"Huh?" Dusk took note that Dawn's mind was lost in space again. "Oh, um...Let's go to the lab. I want to show you something."

"...A-Alright..." he agreed slowly, beginning to get worried.

The grass in their path began to thicken as they continued. Dusk looked down at it. "This is where wild Pokémon are, right?"

Dawn completely ignored Dusk's question. "Is this the first time you've been out of Twinleaf?"

"No," was the reply. He didn't seem to mind his question being lost. "I've gone on a few picnics in Lake Verity. Other than that, yes."

"Ah..." Once more, the sound of her voice trailed off.

"Dawn, I...I really don't want to sound rude, but is something wrong?" Dusk's curiosity got the best of him.

"N-No, of course not." Dawn replied in a rather unconvincing tone.

"You just keep spacing out, and I was worried it was something that I said."

"No, you didn't say anything wrong to me..."

They continued walking in silence. That is, except the cries of multiple forest Pokémon that weren't bothering them. When he wasn't looking, Dawn glanced over at Dusk and smiled shyly, feeling her face flush red every time she did it. "..._So cute, the way he wears that hat_..." she thought to herself constantly.

Soon, they reached Sandgem Town and walked into the first building they came to. It was the infamous laboratory. Upon entering, Dusk was awe-struck at the sheer size of the building. He estimated the ceiling was atleast twenty feet from the floor. On the ground was two bookshelves on either side of the room, the books almost falling out, since the container was brimming with them. A few scientists were scattered across the building conducting various tests. In the back of the room was Professor Rowan, with his back turned to them.

"Professor!" Dawn left Dusk at the door and dashed over to her partner.

"Dawn?" The professor turned around. "What are you and Umbreon doing here? Are you done interviewing him already?"

"Well, not exactly..." Dawn turned her head and looked at the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dusk walking up to them. "I was hoping I could have permission to show Dusk the Pokédex you've been working on." She bowed in respect.

The professor turned his back to them again. "While you're both here, I might as well tell you," he started out. Dusk knew a long story was in tow, so attempted to get as comfortable as possible while standing up. "Are either of you familiar with Professor Oak?"

Dawn looked at Dusk, who remained quiet, then back at Rowan. "Of course."

"We've known each other since college," Rowan explained anyway. "And we've become good colleagues in the process. At any rate, when I returned to my lab after you got to Umbreon's house, I received a call from Professor Oak. In six months from today, I am to go to Kanto and help Professor Oak in his studies."

"What? You're leaving!?" Dawn yelled, unwilling to believe that Rowan would leave his hometown.

"I am. But first, I must request a favor...for both of you. Dawn," the professor walked up to his apprentice and looked her in the eyes. "you haven't had much time to learn from me, but at the same time, I know that you can complete my quest. You've shown me much courage."

Dawn stared blankly, forcing herself to pay attention. "_Where...Where will I..._"

"Umbreon..." The Professor turned to him next, but didn't move. "You are a train wreck waiting to happen. You're much too new at training Pokémon for me to expect you to take this seriously..." He paused for a second. "Yet, your spirit of determination tells me that you won't deny yourself a chance to learn new things."

Dusk's mood changed from anger to curiosity.

"Pro-Professor..." Dawn's eyes began to water.

The elder man reached deep in his coat pocket and pulled out two devices, one pink, and the other blue. He fanned them out, letting each of his listeners take one. Dusk looked at it, not having a clue what it was. Dawn, on the other hand, knew exactly what she was holding, and she was positive she knew where the doctor was going with this. She clenched the fist that wasn't holding onto the gift, soon before the water in her eyes began to flow. "Dawn, Umbreon. What I just gave you are compact machines known simply as Pokédexs. Their job is to record data on any and all Pokémon you find."

"Cool," Dusk chimed in, trying to open his Pokédex by force.

Without turning her head, Dawn lifted her hand up and hit a button on the side, causing Dusk's Pokédex to open, revealing multiple buttons in a complex pattern.

"I knew that," he said quickly, hoping to cover up his ignorance.

"Dawn...Umbreon," the professor repeated, once more turning his back to them. "I want you to travel across Sinnoh, recording every Pokémon you come across."

Dusk gasped, not ready to hear a huge a favor that big. Dawn's head was low, denying anybody who wanted to see what her emotion was.

The professor continued. "Normally, I'd ask you two to split up, in order to cover more ground. However, you're both very new at this, and traveling together could possibly be the only way to survive."

"Wait, you're new?" Dusk turned to his new partner. "How long have you been raising Pokémon?"

She didn't answer, so Rowan did for her. Dusk jerked his head back to the scientist at the sound of his voice. "She got her first Pokémon from me...two weeks ago, was it?"

"Oh...The way you were talking, I thought you'd been all over this stuff by now..." Dusk mentioned lowly.

"There's only one thing left to do. Umbreon, about face." At the call of the professor's voice, Dusk stood up straight and watched him walk over to a counter. He picked up a tray and walked back over to Dusk, holding the piece of metal in front of himself. "There is a single Pokéball left. It's time for you to have it."

Without a word, slowly, nervously, Dusk reached his hand on top of a red and white ball. After a second of hesitation, a firm hand was placed on it. It wasn't long before the passion flared, giving Umbreon the strength to lift the ball out of its silver container.

Professor Rowan smirked at the boy's energy. "_Maybe I was wrong about him_..." he wondered, refusing to let his true expectations show.

Dusk marveled in awe at the glimmer of the Pokéball.

"Oh, and Umbreon, one last thing. You told me that you'd be ready to leave in a month. I can't wait that long. I want you to start your journey by the end of the day."

Dusk squealed at the abrupt announcement. "Today!?"

Rowan quickly replied with his rough voice. "We have a strict time limit to follow. Wasting a month isn't a good way to start."

Before anybody could continue, Dawn stepped away to a side room and shut the door behind her, lacking a single word.

Dusk saw the professor look at him, then glance at the door she walked in, and back to Dusk. The new Trainer nodded at the professor's silent request and stepped over to the door. Rowan's frown remained firm as he returned to work.

Dusk heard sobbing on the other side of the door. He stood outside for a few seconds, gathering his words, then finally knocked. After she didn't reply, he let himself in. Inside was a room painted a somewhat fresh coat of pink paint. A large bed laid in one corner with a single, over-fluffed pillow on top of it. Across from it was a useful dresser. Between the two was a window, which created a beautiful view of various Pokémon playing in the back yard. Turning to his right was a full length mirror with a single sticker of a flower on one of its corners. In the middle of the room was a table. Dawn was standing in front of it, her back turned to Dusk. She had placed a beautiful scarlet scarf around her neck, though Dusk couldn't see much of it at the moment. "Con..." she paused and sobbed. "...gratulations..."

"For what?" Dusk questioned.

"You...You got your first Pokémon." She wiped away a tear running down her cheek.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I did. But that's not what I'm really worried about right now..."

Dawn took two steps back, then turned around and ran into Dusk, tieing her arms around him tightly, letting her head rest on his stomach. After given a moment to make out the sudden attack, Dusk put his arms around her too. He felt an endless stream of tears flow into his shirt. "I...I can't do this..." Water began rolling down her face even faster. Dusk continued patting her back, trying to comfort her. "I-I mean, I...I've only had two weeks with the pr-professor! And now that he's leaving, I...I don't know anything..." She bit her lip, forcefully blocking her next sentence from having any sound to it. "_Not to mention that I'll have nowhere to live..._"

After she choked a few times, Dusk decided he needed to calm her down. "Maybe you can't do this," was a very strange start. Dusk ended the hug, grabbed Dawn by the arms, and pulled her off of himself. She looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. He returned the look with a smile. "...But we can."

At those words, her tears stopped. She stepped away from Dusk quickly, even though she was weak from crying, which caused her to almost fall once or twice.

"We're partners now, even if it's just for a little while. But that's all you'll need! Just a little push."

Dawn was shaking, along with staring at the boy with a confused, winded look.

"...Maybe you don't know everything, but we'll eventually get it! C'mon. You'll be my teammate, right?"

Dawn blushed and almost tripped over a chair while she continued stumbling backwards. "H-How can you...trust me? We just met a-an hour ago..."

Dusk closed his eyes. "Because I know that you trust me."

After a brief moment of nothingness, the girl turned around and unzipped something. She took a tissue out and wiped the remaining tears on it, then put it back. Dawn equipped a yellow bag on her arm and spun back around, smiling; the tears, and her attitude, completely changed. "Oh, fine. Let's go already!" Dawn actually surprised herself how perky that sounded. She tightened her bandana and opened the door back up, letting Dusk walk through first. After he did, she took one last glance around the room, and finally exited behind her teammate.

Hearing the door open, Rowan looked back to see Umbreon watching Dawn close the door. He couldn't stop from smiling, seeing Umbreon had cheered his assistant back up. "Remember! I need you both back here before the year is up!" With that, he returned to his work once more.

"_Maybe...something good will come out of this_," Dawn assured herself.

"C'mon!" Dusk commanded, taking off.

"Wait up!" she trailed behind him.

It had been quite some time since Rowan felt the way that he currently did. Listening to their youthfulness caused a single drop of water to fall on Rowan's studies. He wiped it off and continued.

"So where do we go now?" Dusk asked, holding the door for his partner to escape from the laboratory.

"We should probably go back to your place so you can tell your folks that you're going to be gone for awhile," Dawn suggested.

"Right. If you want, you can tell your family you're leaving too, and I'll meet you back here in about an hour."

With Dusk's words, Dawn gazed at her scarf compassionately. She remained silent.

"...Er, you can come back to my place! It's no problem!"

Dawn looked back up, the afternoon sun forcing her to squint slightly. "I'd like that..." she agreed quietly.

"Great! Race you there." Dusk said it way too quickly for her to react fast enough. He took off, gaining an unfair lead.

"Hey! No fair!" Dawn complained, trying to catch up.

"_There won't be a dull day for awhile_," the boy decided.

--

**A/N:** I hope you enjoyed the first chapter.

I just wanted to make a quick note. You may have guessed it already, but the character named Dusk is based on Lucas. There's a reason I changed it, but I believe that's another story altogether. With that out of the way, please enjoy the rest of It Takes a Genius at your leisure!


	2. Jubilife Drama

They reached his two-story house. Dawn touched the door first, but Dusk soon followed. They were both out of breath.

"I...can't believe...I just got upstaged...by a girl..." Dusk panted.

"And you even cheated, too!" the winner rubbed her victory in further.

Dusk twisted the doorknob and opened the chipped wooden door. His mother was waiting for him on the inside, though with a depressed expression on her face.

"Professor Rowan called...He told me you'd be leaving for awhile..." She refused to let the tears in her eyes fall.

Dawn looked outside, then at her teammate. "Maybe I should...wait outside." She wasn't sure if she wanted a response to that or not. Either way, she didn't get it. She stepped outside and shut the door behind her. The slow-moving clouds overhead got her attention.

"Mom, I--" Dusk started, but was interrupted.

"No, don't say anything. I understand everything. It was your dream to be a Pokémon Trainer, and now it's finally coming true...I've been preparing for this for a long time now. Son, I want you to have this." She pulled her hands out from behind her back. In one of them was a strange device. "This is called a Pokétch, which is short for Pokémon Watch. It has a bunch of functions! Just hit this button to change between them..." Though trying to remain perky, the mother's disappointment shone through. "Before he left for heaven knows where, your father...gave that to me, and told me to give it to you the day that you got your first Pokémon." She handed the contraption to her son. While he reached for it, she put her hand over his. "Please be careful." Two droplets of tears lined her face, but she didn't let anymore drop.

"I won't let you down, Mom." Dusk proudly equipped his father's watch.

There was a long pause. "...Go. I'm sure you have alot of packing to do." The mother stepped to the side to let her only child through. She watched him dash up the steps, knowing it was going to be the last time for a while. After he was out of sight, the depressed mother stepped outside to see Dawn studying the sky.

The girl turned around when she heard the door open. When she saw it was Dusk's mother, she wasn't sure what to feel. She decided to show a smile, which turned contagious, causing the middle-aged woman to smile back.

"It's...Dawn, right?" She walked up to the girl.

"Yeah. Ma'am, please understand--"

"No. I know. I don't have any regrets. My son must do this. It'll be quite the learning experience for him! And if I ever get lonely, I can just look up your mom's number! We could start a support group!" she laughed through the tears.

Dawn turned her head and looked away, trying her hardest to smile. "Yeah..." Her eyes turned back when she heard Dusk's mother cry harder.

"...Please take care of my Umbreon." Her eyes were closed, her hands holding each other in front of her lower waist, with tears rapidly flushing out.

Not sure what to do, Dawn hugged her firmly, hoping she would accept it as a confident 'I will.'

"Please, Dawn...could you do me one favor?"

Dawn stepped back. "Of course."

"Whenever..." she rubbed her eyes. "Whenever you find a cassette player, please play this in it." She handed Dawn a cassette tape.

"_They still make these things?_"Dawn wondered. "Of course I will." She accepted it gladly, then slipped it into her handbag. "Are you sure that's all I can do?"

"I want you to protect my son..." she replied. "...But don't go getting yourself hurt out there either! Understand?" Her firmness boosted her own morale.

Dawn quickly reached in her handbag and pulled out a ball that was painted red on top with white on the bottom. She pressed a button, causing it to expand, and stretched her arm out forwards. "As long as I have this thing by my side, nobody's getting hurt on my watch!"

Her friend's mother smiled at the assurance, but it dropped when she heard the door to her house open.

"Dawn, are you--Oh..." Dusk stopped himself when he noticed his mother standing there. Since he was at her back, he didn't know what her expression was.

She turned around and smiled brightly at her son. Her eyes were sparkling with hope. "Go. Be free! Learn new things! Meet new friends!" She paused to inhale. "...Live, okay?"

"I will." Dusk turned from his house and headed up the dirt path in the middle of the village. Dawn followed him. When they were halfway up it, they looked back to see Dusk's mother still standing there, watching them. Dawn waved back, but Dusk just smiled. Dawn felt her friend wince when he turned back around and continued up the path.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

Dusk had a wide smile on his face while stepping out of the boundaries of his hometown. "Never been better."

Back at home, Dusk's mother was about to go back into her house when she felt a strong hand on a shoulder. She turned around to see it was owned by Professor Rowan. "Professor Rowan, how did you get--"

"I'm glad you let him go, Johanne," Rowan interrupted.

She looked down at her red high-heels grimly. "Yeah..."

"You and I go far back, and you know that. Admittedly, I haven't gotten to see much of Umbreon these past few years, which explains why he doesn't remember me much. Nevertheless, I can tell the courage in that boy is simply outstanding. You let him spread his wings, and he'll thank you for it one day," Rowan lectured.

Johanne turned around so she was facing the gruff man and changed the subject. "What takes you away from your work?"

"I wanted to make sure you were going to be alright," he explained. "But I also wanted to give you this." He held out his hand and waited for her to accept the gift. "Go on. Take it."

"Sir, you didn't need to give me anything..." she said modestly.

"No, I didn't need to, but with Umbreon out of the house, I thought it'd get a bit lonely. So I brought you this." Again, he offered her the gift. This time, curiosity took over her and she accepted it.

She observed it for a second, then gasped. "This is what Dawn had earlier...!"

"That, Johanne," a wide smile escaped the usually negative doctor. "is a Pokéball."

-----------

"I guess I have to admit, I am worried about my mom..." Dusk confessed.

"We left five minutes ago, and you're already homesick?" Dawn laughed, taunting her partner.

"Hey, I'm not homesick, alright!? But incase you didn't notice, my mother is a bit...anxiety-heavy," the male Trainer said, fixing his beret.

"Yeah, she did seem to go slightly over-the-top a few times...But it only goes to show how much she loves you."

Given how she had reacted earlier, Umbreon wanted to make sure this didn't somehow turn into a conversation about Dawn's family, so he quickly changed the subject. "This might not sound too good, but do you happen to have any idea where we should go?"

Dawn let out a heavy sigh. "This is what happens when the most experienced person in the group has two weeks on the least experienced..." She dug into her bag and pulled out a map of the entire country. It listed all the most popular cities on the island. She tried to make out a plan, but ended up failing.

Dusk peeked over her shoulder. "Why don't we just head to this Jubilife place? It looks like it's the closest," he suggested.

"It's worth a shot," she agreed, closing the map.

They reached Sandgem Town again. After taking a few steps in, Dawn stopped and looked at the back of a house. Dusk did the same, trying to find out what she was looking for. "What's up?"

Dawn closed her eyelids with her head lowered, then started walking again. Her bangs covered her eyes. "It's nothing. Let's just keep going," she said quietly.

Dusk glanced at her, then back at the house. He couldn't help but wonder what the connection between that house and Dawn was.

Catching up to her, Dusk knew he shouldn't ask, but it was going to eat him alive until he knew. "Don't you live in that room back at the lab?"

"Yeah!" She turned her head back to her friend so he could see one eye, along with half of her smile. "What about it?"

"Then, what was that house back there...?" he continued.

"Oh...that..." Dawn turned her head back to the path ahead. "It's just a friend's house. That's all."

"Do you want to tell him you're leaving?" Dusk continued pressing.

Dawn wondered how he came to the conclusion it was a male, but decided not to ask. "No, it's alright. We'd better not waste too long."

Dusk finally gave up. "If you say so..."

As per usual after a conversation like that, silence filled the air until they managed to hit their first destination of many: Route 202.

"Here's where the real fun starts, Dusk!" Dawn said cheerfully.

"R-Right!" he agreed.

Dawn was going to start running, but stopped herself when she realized her partner stuttered. "You're not worried, are you?"

"What? Of course not!" Dusk defended his boyish pride.

"You're a scared little chicken!" Dawn blew his bluff wide open. "You can turn back now...if you want." She winked at him.

"Fine! Maybe I will!" He turned around.

Dawn gasped, not wanting him to take her words seriously. She ran in front of him, blocking his path. "No, please don't!"

"...Er, actually, I kinda forgot to get any food from my house, and I'm starving. I was hoping we could backtrack to Sandgem and...Dawn? Are you okay?"

Dawn's eyes were burning with anger as she came to the realization that she just got upset over her partner's stomach. "Yeah...I'm just fine..." she gritted out under her teeth.

"Anyway, I thought we could just go back and get a hamburg--" Dusk was interrupted by Dawn grabbing the back of his collar and dragging him up the path of Route 202. He was choking for air the entire way.

"You can eat when we get to Jubilife..." Dawn comforted, still disgusted with the entire ordeal.

The commanding young woman didn't let go of her friend's clothing until they reached a patch of tall grass. After giving Dusk a few seconds to recover, she slapped his beret off, causing it to fall to the ground. "Tag," she said dully before taking off over the grass.

"GET BACK HERE!!" Dusk picked up his French hat and bolted after her. "_She's quite a mischievous one, isn't she?_" Umbreon asked himself, still trying to take her down.

They got out of the tall grass, finding a plain-like area outside of it, making it much easier to run for the both of them. Dusk, however, wasn't watching where he was running, and tripped over a brown object that was laying on the ground. He faceplanted into the newly-cut grass, creating a single, loud thumping noise and causing his backpack to slide up to the backside of his neck. His hat fell off and landed directly in front of him. Dawn, suspecting that their game was over, turned around from her lead position and stepped back to where Dusk was laying. "You okay?" she asked sincerely, holding a hand out for him to grab.

"Yeah, I'm fine...just a minor concussion, nothing to worry about," he said jokingly, taking her hand and getting to his feet. "What is that thing anyway?" He dusted himself off and grabbed his beret off the ground one more time.

The creature he tripped over yawned and rolled over to show its belly, as if nothing even happened. It didn't even seem like it knew Dawn and Dusk were standing there.

Dawn took out the pink Pokédex she had received from her mentor and opened it, pointing the machine in the creature's direction. The Pokédex began to talk in a mechanical voice. "**Bidoof, the plump mouse Pokémon. Bidoof have very lazy natures. Though generally considered weak, a team of Bidoof can be a formidable force**." The Pokédex entry was complete.

"Seems kinda..." Dusk began.

"...Stupid?" Dawn finished his sentence.

Before he could reply, they heard four wings flapping in their direction. "Where's that sound coming from?" Dusk looked around in the sky.

It was rather easy to spot two territorial birds bent on attacking. From the air dove a pair of Starly, aimed right at the trainers.

They jumped back to avoid the rushing charge. "What's with the hostility?!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Maybe the sound I made when I fell disturbed them..." Dusk pondered.

"Either way," Dawn broke him out of it. "we don't have time to worry about that. If they're going to attack, we have to defend ourselves!"

"Great, I'll get the shotgun!" Dusk couldn't get away before his partner stopped him.

"Not like that!" She reached in her handbag and pulled out the same object she showed Dusk's mother. "Go, Charmy!"

"Charmy...?" Dusk wondered.

The Pokéball hit the ground. A bright flash escaped from it. After the brightness had vanished, a small penguin was visible. The penguin was a deep-sea blue color on top, with sky-blue on its tummy. It had seemingly huge eyes, but small, dark pupils to counter them. Three white dots were imprinted on its chest. Tired of standing still, the cute Pokémon jumped up in the air excitingly, awaiting its order.

The Pokéball returned to Dawn as she looked over at his partner, who was still curious of it. "It's a Piplup! I chose it as my starting Pokémon."

"Why did you call it 'Charmy'?"

"Because!" she winked at her partner. "Nicknaming Pokémon is fun."

"Oh..." he said in a low volume.

"But enough about that! Hurry up and send yours out too! Charmy can't handle both of them at once!" Dawn ordered, turning back to the upcoming fisticuff.

"Oh, right. Go, er--" It was at this moment when he realized that he wasn't even sure of the Pokémon Rowan had handed him. "...Oh, just go anyway!" He shot the Pokéball high into the air. It contained an orange colored monkey. Its fur was pretty rugged, which matched its fighting style perfectly. Its small tail had a raging flame at the end of it. "Um..." Dusk looked at it in disbelief. "Is my Pokémon supposed to be on fire?"

Dawn laughed, though she felt a bit of remorse for it. It wasn't his fault that he was new to this. "That's a Chimchar. It's a monkey that has Fire-type powers, like how my Piplup is a Water-type. Follow me?"

"...Y-Yes...?" he sighed. He'd never bothered to look into things like this before, since his mother had always been firm in telling him that he was never going to get a Pokémon.

"We'll talk about it when we get out of this mess. Charmy, Pound the Starly!" Dawn commanded her one-foot tall partner.

The arctic creature waited for the bird to draw close. "Piiiiiip..." it said, starting to wind its arm up. When the enemy Starly got close, Charmy jumped in the air and came crashing down on it. "LUP!!"

"Yes! Great hit, Charmy!" its Trainer complimented. Happy with the praise, Charmy jumped up and down again.

"That didn't look so hard. Um, uh...Monkey," Dusk forgot the name of his own Pokémon, so he called it by its species. "use Scratch on the other Starly!"

Dawn turned her head and looked at her determined teammate. "You named your Chimchar 'Monkey'?"

"Uh..." He thought for a second. "Sure! Why not? I'll call it Monkey!"

Dawn smiled at the mysterious name.

"Piiiplup..." The penguin watched the Starly it had just nailed slowly rise off the ground.

"Oh no! It's going to attack! Charmy, get out of there!" Dawn couldn't order the creature fast enough. The Starly picked up speed and Tackled the Piplup to its trainer's feet. "Charmy! Are you okay?" She bent down to it, but it started getting up on its own. She was relieved no serious damage was given to it.

"Monkey! Change of plans! Pick off the Starly that Charmy started attacking!" The Chimchar looked behind its shoulder to see its trainer pointing at the other bird. It quickly turned direction and dashed toward the weakened bird. When it reached its target, Chimchar jumped in the air and started slashing madly at it with the monkey's sharp claws. By the time it was done, they both landed on the ground; Chimchar on its feet, Starly on its stomach. Its wing twitched.

"Thanks for covering my Piplup..."

"Don't mention it," he shrugged it off.

Dawn noticed the remaining Starly preparing to charge at her comrade's Pokémon. "Charmy, let's return the favor! Use Bubble!"

"Piplupluplupluplup!" A massive string of bubbles shot from Piplup's mouth, incapacitating the bird.

"Did we win?" Dusk wondered out loud.

"I don't want to stick around to find out. The last thing we need is for them to get reinforcements in here," Dawn took command. She reached for her Pokémon's Pokéball and returned it. "You did great," she said, looking at the Pokéball. After stashing it back in her bag, she took off.

"Did it actually hear you say that...?" Dusk couldn't figure out how it was supposed to hear the praise through the metal ball.

"COME ON!!" Dawn cried, already having gained a short distance on Dusk.

"Oh, right!" He withdrew his own Pokémon and chased after her. They were running in the direction of Jubilife City.

After some jogging, they reached a sign that read, 'Welcome to Jubilife!' At the accomplishment of doing so, they fell to their knees on the paved road, catching their breath.

"I can't believe two small birds could be so much trouble..." Dusk stated, rising back to his feet.

"When that Starly hit Charmy like that, I was worried..." She noticed her friend's hand in front of her face.

"Well," after she put her hand in his, Dusk pulled her up. "either way, we're OK now. I doubt two forest creatures would chase us into a populated city like this." He looked about the not-so crowded streets of Jubilife City. "Speaking of, how about we do some exploring?"

Dawn grabbed a device from her bag and strapped it on her arm.

"Isn't that a Pokétch?" Dusk lifted up his own to compare.

"Yep," Dawn said proudly. "Professor Rowan gave it to me when I started working for him. It must have been awkward for a guy like him to design a pink watch," she laughed at the thought. "Anyway, it's getting somewhat late..." Her watch read 18:45. "We should go see if the Pokémon Center has any rooms open for the night." She turned away from her watch.

"Right. Race you there!"

None of their tired legs wanted them to accept the challenge. They both groaned and limped over to the Center, which was no more than half a mile away...Nothing compared to all the running they've already done today.

"Hello! Welcome to our Pokémon Center!" The nurse at the counter greeted the Trainers as they walked in. She was wearing a pink blouse with a white uniform beneath it, which somehow set any worried Trainer at ease. A medium-sized nurse's hat was on the top of her short red hair. Everything below her waist was hidden by the counter, which had various equipment and a donation jar with a picture of a male and female Nidoran playing with each other on it. "Would you like us to heal your Pokémon?"

"Well, yeah, but we were also hoping we could sleep here tonight..." Dawn rubbed the back of her head, expecting the nurse to think it was a stupid question.

The nurse bowed her head. "Of course you may." Both Trainers were caught off guard when she said it in such a polite voice. "Just walk through that door over there, and take the first door on your left. Put this on the door handle on your way in." The female Pokémon doctor handed Dusk a small white sign that read 'Occupied.' "Just leave your Pokémon at the counter, and they'll be energetic as the first day you got them in no time!"

"_In other words...today,_" Dusk thought to himself, though didn't dare to say it out loud. "Wow, thank you." Dusk looked at Dawn, who was looking back at him, then turned back to the nurse. He set his only Pokéball on the table and walked toward their loaned room.

"Excuse me..." Dawn started out shyly, making sure Dusk didn't hear her.

"Mm-hm?" the nurse replied in the same polite voice as she always had.

"...There's a shower in here, right?" she whispered, setting her Pokéball on the counter as an excuse to get closer to the nurse.

She smiled back at the young trainer. "Of course. There's a washroom in the back of where you'll be staying tonight."

"Thanks," Dawn replied, a little embarrassed she had ever asked the question.

"Uh..." Dusk was standing in the door to their room.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked, walking up behind him.

Dusk moved out of the doorway so she could see into their sleeping grounds.

"Wh-What!?"

Inside the room was...Not much. The only thing to be found was a bunkbed laying at the far corner of the room, and the door that the nurse told Dawn about was next to it. The entire rest of the room was empty, which was a good thing. Otherwise, there would be even less walkspace in the almost unbearably small room. All the walls were painted a very bland white, which only helped continue the monotonous streak.

Stepping inside, Dawn smiled. "Well, I guess we can't ask too much from a place that's letting us heal our Pokémon and sleep, both for free."

"Dibs on the top bunk!" Dusk secured his spot by throwing his backpack on it. "I'm going to go explore a bit. You wanna come?"

"No thanks," Dawn denied the offer and sat down on the bottom bed, her bandana rubbing against the upper bed. "I think I'm just going to rest up for now."

"Alright. Suit yourself." Dusk exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

Alone, Dawn took off her bandana and rested it on the bed. She got up and opened the other door, revealing a plain bathroom. The tiled floor complemented the same type of walls. With a bathtub on her left, a sink straight ahead, and a toilet on her right, it was a pretty cramped fit, but she repeated the same points she said earlier and started stripping herself of her clothes. She turned the valve in the shower, forcing water to rush out of the faucet. While waiting for the water to warm up, she smiled at the reflection of herself in the mirror that hung above the sink. After the water got so warm that the room started to steam up, she stepped in and closed the shower curtain. Feeling the relaxing water hit her body, she leaned on the wall. "_I needed this about three different times today..._"

Half an hour passed, and Dawn stepped out of the shower. She dried herself off with a towel that was draped on a rack suspended in the shower. She sighed as she remembered her handbag was much too small to bring a change of clothes in, along with all of the other things she had in it. The trainer equipped her usual clothing and walked out of the washroom, feeling much better then when she had walked in. She unzipped a portion of her bag and took out a brush, running it along her still-wet hair. Finished, she set it back in her bag. She decided to forgo her bandana and leave the room with her hair just the way it was.

"Excuse me, miss?" the nurse called out when she saw Dawn step out of the door.

"What is it?" she asked, slightly concerned with what the answer might be.

"You came in here with a boy, right? Do you know where he went?"

Dawn really didn't like where this was going. "Um...no. He just told me he was going to wander around the city. Why do you ask?"

A worried expression stayed on the twenty-something girl's face. "Oh...well, if you see him, tell him something..." she paused for a second. "happened to his Pokémon."

"What!?" Dawn's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean? What happened?" She rushed over to the opposite side of the counter the doctor was on and slammed her hands on the desk.

"I don't know! Somehow it got released from its Pokéball, and it scampered away. I tried calling for it, but it just ignored me. It looked so young...Anything could hurt it out there!"

"It didn't listen to you...?" Dawn said, basically to herself. "_It must have been because its used to the name 'Monkey_...'" Dawn turned grim when she remembered pushing Dusk so hard to name his Pokémon. Feeling responsible, she perked back up and looked the nurse in the face with determination in her eyes. Her wet bangs tickled her eyebrows. "I'll find it."

"Please do...I called the police, and they're searching for it as well, but as you can imagine, it's hard finding such a small penguin..." The nurse still didn't feel confident, though Dawn's assurance helped.

"Right. I'll find that--Um...did you say penguin?" Dawn's subconscious mind was hoping the woman had said the wrong word.

"That's right. It was a young Piplup," the doctor explained.

Water started flushing to Dawn's eyes. Before the nurse could ask what was wrong, she screamed. "Charmy!!" She turned around and bolted out the door that automatically opened up for her and closed behind her.

They opened back up a second later when the nurse came running to the door. "Wait!" she screamed, but Dawn refused to stop running after her beloved Pokémon. "What happened?" The nurse didn't realize the case of mistaken identity.

"CHARMY! CHARMY!!" Dawn's tears had dried. She didn't have time for them. She glanced up and down the road, continuously calling her friend's name.

After running around, literally, the entire city, dodging policemen and citizens alike, her legs gave out. She dropped to all fours, but pushed back on her arms, so she was resting on her knees. Nonetheless, she was unable to continue. Without being able to keep her mind on running, her thoughts turned to her lost Pokémon, and her tears came back. She began pounding the sidewalk. "Charmy, come back..." she chanted between the sobs.

"Piiiipwup?"

Dawn only cried harder when she heard this. She thought her mind was just playing terrible tricks on her. "_Hilarious,_" she remarked sarcastically.

"Piiplup!" it said again, this time with a touch more vitality.

"Charmy?" The tears instantly halted.

At the call of its name, the small penguin Pokémon wobbled out from behind some trash cans and over to Dawn. Seeing her Pokémon waddle up to her caused Dawn to start crying again, only this time, they were tears she didn't mind shedding.

"Piiiiiipwup?" the Pokémon cried, worried about its Trainer.

"Charmy...where were you? I was so worried..."

"Piplup! Piplup!" It pointed behind Dawn.

She turned around to see a strong man in a police suit running up behind her.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" The policeman kneeled down to her.

The reunion with her Pokémon made her forget she was even sitting down on the sidewalk. She stood up and took Charmy into her arms, holding it around her waist with both hands. "Yes, I am."

Upon inspection of the strange person, Charmy turned around to face Dawn's shirt and shivered.

"What's wrong, Charmy? Huh?" She slowly stroked the top of its head, trying to make its small tears stop.

"Oh! Are you the person that lost the Piplup? Is this it?" the generous, if not generic male policeman asked.

"Yes, I am," she repeated from before. "Thank you, sir."

"Finally, the first piece of good news I've heard all day. Are you sure you're alright?" the officer asked again.

Dawn nodded.

"Alright. I'll see you two around later." The policeman walked away. Dawn heard him take out his radio. "This is unit 16. Subject Piplup's been located and returned to owner. Returning to station,"

"Copy that," came a voice after some static on the radio cleared.

A few seconds after the officer walked away, Charmy turned its head and watched him continue down the road.

On the way back to the PokéCenter, Dawn walked across an Italian restaurant. Casually peeking inside, she picked out Umbreon from the crowd. "_Oh, why am I not surprised!?_" she yelled to herself.

Dawn walked in the door, Charmy now smiling in the comfortable position it was in. Though it was nothing more than brick walls with light music playing in the background, the girl was immersed in a beautiful atmosphere. She got back in touch with reality and found her partner again. He noticed her, but didn't say anything until she drew closer. She sat down on the opposite side of the table as Dusk. "Hey, what's up?" her partner questioned with half a mouth full of pasta blotting out most of his voice.

She growled out loud. "You could have atleast pretended to help, you know!"

Dusk swallowed and stared at her blankly. "...Helped with what?"

Dawn's face became curious. "You...don't know?"

He shook his head, also silently deciding to add a bit more cheese to his meal.

"This little guy ran away from the Pokémon Center..." The Trainer looked down at the Pokémon in her arms. It was gently nibbling on her hair.

"It did?" Dusk asked stupidly.

"The sudden increase of police officers walking around outside should have given it away!" Dawn snapped back.

"Well sorrrry..." the male trainer pouted.

Dawn felt a bit bad for yelling at him so suddenly, but was interrupted when somebody on her right side walked over to her. "Ah, a delicate miss has joined you today, no?" She looked over to see who was trying to sweet-talk her. To her surprise, however, it was a tall, middle-aged man with a groomed mustache, matching his thin beard perfectly. His hair was combed neatly to the side. He wore a very expensive-looking tuxedo. "Dear me," he responded to Dawn's surprised expression. "I am Luigi, and I am your waiter this marvelous evening." He had a heavy Italian accent, but retained his professionalism without falter. "May I interest you in the same dish your friend is partaking of? 'Tis tonight's special."

Charming as he was, Dawn refused his offer. "Just a salad, please."

"Very well. A salad for the madam it is." He bowed and left.

Dusk pointed his Italian sauce-covered fork at their waiter. "He has got to be the coolest guy in this entire city. Just, I mean...seriously."

"I have to use the restroom. I'll be right back." Dawn set her Piplup on the table.

The creature looked around nervously. Surrounding it were many strangers that it didn't recognize, though they were all sitting at their own tables, minding their own business. It let out a gentle yelp, then hopped off of the table and dashed for its trainer, crying all the way. Its high-pitched voice turned more then a few heads.

Dawn stopped walking when she felt something tug at her boot. She looked down to see it was her Pokémon. She bent down and picked it up into her arms, then glanced over at Dusk. He was doing the same to her. A frown was on both of their faces. Her attention went back to Charmy. "What's wrong?"

The Piplup once again buried its face into Dawn's shirt and quivered.

She returned to the table. Her elbow was lifted to rest on the helpful, circular wood, allowing her head fall on her open hand.

"Your salad." Luigi returned and set a bowl of various vegetables on the table next to Dawn's elbow. As quickly as he came, he left.

Charmy stared into the dish.

"You want some?" Dawn retrieved a small piece of lettuce from the bowl and fed it to her Pokémon. It became overjoyed, clearly demanding more of the unfamiliar plant. Dawn set Charmy on the table. "You just...go ahead and eat whatever you'd like now, okay?"

While Charmy was getting its fill, Dawn slowly jumped the chair back and took off for the bathroom once again. This time, the small penguin was too occupied with the food to chase after its Trainer. When Dawn reached the lady's room, she looked back to see her Piplup still contently sitting on the table, feasting on her own dinner. She smiled and pushed the door open, entering the room.

Taking note she was gone, Dusk reached his fork over to her dish to take out a tomato. He wasn't expecting Charmy to slap his hand when he neared it.

"Piiiiiiiplup! Piplup Piplup!" it denounced the thieving act.

After getting over the sting of the attack, Dusk started laughing. "_It must get that from its Trainer_," he decided.

Minutes later, Dawn returned. Dusk had finished his meal, and Piplup had done quite a number on the salad. There was only about half of the bowl left. "You're hungry, aren't you?" Dawn asked her Pokémon, who had recently made itself very comfortable by sitting on a napkin. She decided she'd like a bit of her own meal, so she grabbed her own fork and began eating.

"So where do we go next?" Dusk said, comfortably leaning on the back of his chair.

Dawn swallowed. "We should probably take the east gate and head to Oreburgh City. Then we'll go from there."

A moment after she said that, the two people sitting in the table behind Dusk nodded to each other and stood up. They walked over to the table Dawn and Dusk were at.

They looked up to see two tall figures. One was a boy with white hair, tied back by a black headband running across his forehead. The headband had the design of half of a Pokéball in its center. His jacket was red except for the stomach area and the bottoms of the long arm sleeves, which were a deep black. His pants were also black until it reached his heels, where it turned into a goldenrod color. He was also equipped with yellow, fingerless gloves with a blue patch splattered on the top for design.

The other was a girl, slightly shorter than the former, though the difference was hardly noticeable. She had a red bandana on, making Dawn a bit relieved she didn't bring hers into a humble restaurant like this. They'd probably look like twins. The headgear had a white stripe on it, starting from the right-hand side of it, and streaming up the middle. Under the bandana was bushy brown hair tied up into two long pigtails which extended to either side of her body. Her blouse was colored cherry with a single black line running around her collar. A cute, white skirt accentuated her keen sense of style, matching with the rest of her outfit beautifully. Her clean, long boots showed that she was ready for anything Mother Nature could throw at her. It seemed that it'd be hard to travel around in such heavy footwear, but she didn't seem to mind much. A Torchic Pokémon was perched on her shoulder. It jumped off and landed on their table, running over to Piplup, who was choking on a cucumber slice.

"Can we help you?" Dusk asked, more than slightly suspicious.

The two in question beamed at the team that was sitting down on the table in front of them. "Actually, you can," the male spoke in a somewhat rugged, but compassionate voice. Dawn almost started choking on her salad, much like her Pokémon, when she heard the attractive sound. "I'm Brendan, this is May. We explored Hoenn, so we thought we'd see what this place was about."

The girl, shy, smiled and waved.

"We overheard you say something about going to Oreburgh?" Brendan continued.

"That's right..." Dawn agreed, recovering. She looked over at Dusk to see if she could tell what he was thinking, though it ended in failure. Her attention returned to Brendan.

"See, we're actually headed there too, but we're kinda new to these parts, so we don't know our way around very well. We were hoping we could tag along with you. Just until we reach Oreburgh, of course! Then we'll get out of your way."

Dusk was going to tell them that they know as much about these parts as he and Dawn did, but his teammate spoke up before him. "Of course you can!" Dawn didn't intend to let a handsome boy like him stay out of their party if she could help it.

"Great! We'll be waiting for you at the east gate tomorrow at...say 7:30?" Brendan set up the date.

"Sure!" Dawn, still infatuated, didn't realize Charmy rolled off the table and hit the ground, though out of energy, finally gaining its ability to breath back.

"See you there," Brendan waved and left.

"Torchic!" May called in a sweet sounding voice. "C'mon! Time to go!"

The fire Pokémon dropped its observation of Piplup and hopped back over to May's shoulder.

May soon chased after Brendan.

Dusk, his friend still lost in space, cleared his throat loudly. Dawn snapped back to reality. "You actually like that guy?"

"Tell me you don't!--Er..." Dawn didn't realize quite how badly that sounded until after the words left her mouth. "What do you find so wrong with him?"

Dusk picked up a glass of water and lifted it to his mouth, hoping his answer would get muffled behind it. "He dates that whore, for one thing..."

"What was wrong with her?" Dawn inquired.

"Did you even hear the way her voice sounds?" Dusk leaned across the table. "She sounded like the prostitute that was on Cops just before Rowan showed up at my door earlier..."

Dawn looked at her Pokétch. 22:25 came up on the monitor. "It's getting late...we should probably go to bed."

"Yeah," her partner agreed.

"...Hey, waitaminute. Where'd Charmy go?" The Trainer was completely oblivious to what had happened.

A bit later, they reached the Pokémon Center.

"I heard you found your Piplup! I'm so sorry for the mix-up," the nurse politely apologized.

"It's no problem. I'm just glad to be holding my Pokémon again." Dawn looked down to see Charmy nibbling on the Trainer's hair again. She couldn't believe the penguin was able to eat anything else after taking most of her salad earlier.

The nurse bent down and picked up a tray, setting it on the counter. On one side was Charmy's Pokéball, which was open and obviously empty. The other side contained Dusk's Pokémon. "Your Chimchar is all better. Would you like me to heal Piplup again?"

"No, thank you. A good night's rest should be all he needs..." Dawn started laughing when Piplup tugged at her hair harder.

Dusk walked up and took both Pokéballs, handing Charmy's over to Dawn. They entered the side door, then stepped into their room.

"You should stay in here for the night, Charmy..." she explained with a yawn, recalling her Pokémon into its traveling home.

They said their goodnights to each other and climbed into their bunk beds, setting their bags on the side.

Dusk quickly fell asleep. Dawn, however, wasn't as fortunate. She began getting cold, which turned into shivering. Chattering teeth followed. Eventually she began to wonder if it was healthy to get this cold during June. Without having any covers on the loaned bed to slip under, she rolled over and curled up into a ball, hoping it would help. It didn't work. A few seconds later, she heard a zipping sound that lasted for atleast three seconds. After a brief delay, she heard Dusk jump down from the top bed, but she couldn't muster the strength to look back and see what he was doing. She didn't have to.

"See if this helps..." Dusk said warmly.

Dawn felt a heavy, cotton blanket fall on top of her. She gasped slightly at the sudden tickle of it, but quickly got used to its warmth. "Don't...you want to use it?" she whispered to him.

"Something tells me you need it more," he replied, climbing up the small ladder back to his bed.

"But doesn't this take up a lot of space to carry...?" Dawn asked, still somewhat confused about the situation.

"Yeah..." Dusk waited until he zipped his backpack back up and got comfortable again to continue. "But I guess it was worth it, huh?"

Joyful tears started forming in Dawn's eyes. She allowed them to fall silently on top of her pillow. "_Umbreon_..."


	3. New Friends and a Nasty Surprise

Feeling her body unconsciously roll around so she was facing the other direction, Dawn awoke. She pushed against the bed with her arms, lifting her body up, also causing Dusk's blanket to fall down to her waist. Rubbing out the sleep left in her eyes, she looked at her Pokétch. "_6:15...?_"Even her thoughts were groggy. She fell back down, enjoying the comfort of both the bed and Dusk's blanket, though she knew it was a luxury she couldn't afford. The tired Trainer flung the blanket off of herself, then forced herself out of bed. Finally getting used to the day, she looked up and saw Dusk, still out like a light. "_I'll give him a few more minutes_..." she decided. She yawned and stretched while walking into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

By the time Dawn came out, Dusk was sitting up in his bed, looking three-quarters asleep. He started mumbling random strings of letters at his partner.

She translated it to something like a 'Good morning.' "Better get up. Remember that we have to meet--"

Dusk cut her off, mid-sentence. "Yeah, yeah, I know..." He rubbed his eyes one last time before jumping out of bed.

Dawn turned laterally to let Dusk get to the bathroom. Even through that, it was a tight fit in the tiny room. She bypassed him and started digging through her bag.

After minutes of fumbling around and yelling each other, Dusk opened the door to the lobby of the PokéCenter, letting Dawn walk through before he shut it. She was proud to be wearing her bandana once again.

"Good morning." The same nurse from yesterday was in her usual location. "Both of you received a call from Professor Rowan just a little while ago."

They blinked, finding it hard to believe the doctor was checking up on them already. "Really?" they asked, nearly simultaneously

"I explained that you were both retired to your rooms, so he just said to give him a call back as soon as possible," she finished.

"Thank you," Dawn bowed to her and followed Dusk over to a video phone.

Dusk punched a few buttons on the side of the monitor until a ringing sound could be heard. Shortly after, the video came online, displaying a ruffled elder man. "Yes, what is it?"

"H-Hi...Professor..." Dawn was hoping for maybe a 'hello' from Rowan's side...

Rowan heard Dawn's voice on the opposite side of the phone. He flipped a switch, which also brought his own monitor to come to life. It revealed both teenage Trainers standing a foot away from the monitor so they could both be seen. "Ah, Dawn! Umbreon! I do hope I'm not bothering you," he mocked, feeling they slept in too late. "I wanted to call you and relay the message Samuel Oak gave to me just last night."

Neither of them were quite sure who he was talking about until the 'Oak' part clicked in their minds. Though they didn't look at each other, both Dawn and Dusk knew that this probably wasn't going to end well, and they both knew that the other knew it.

Rowan closed his eyes. "Our previous plans fall through. From today, you have exactly two months and twenty-eight days to fill the Pokédexs."

The receiving end was speechless. They couldn't believe their already small time limit to fulfill such a huge favor just got cut in half. The worst part was, Rowan hardly seemed to care.

"I see I have caught you off guard," the professor noted, being off-put by their silence. "Before you start quitting out on me, know that a single man rode a bicycle on the outskirts of Sinnoh, circling all the way around it, in a single month."

"That doesn't help us much when we don't have bikes!" Dusk quickly bit back.

"...Hm," Rowan grunted, finally opening his eyes back up. They weren't any kinder than they were before. "Then I suggest you get some."

The communication was ended before either of them could respond. Dusk brought his fist up to the monitor screen, wanting to give it a solid punch, but then remembering he'd have to pay for it. That, and it'd probably hurt. "I don't believe that guy!" He stormed back a few steps.

Dawn's head lowered. "If that's what the professor says, we have to do it..." The volume of her voice was much lower than usual. If Dusk was back another step, he may not have heard it.

"I can't believe you're taking his side!" Dusk slashed his arm through the air in disbelief.

"Yelling at him when he can't hear us isn't going to help!" Dawn turned around to face Dusk and fired back. She decided that she couldn't say her next sentence to his face so she turned back around, causing her hair to leap up slightly. Her volume returned to what it was a sentence ago. "Besides...it's not like we have a choice..."

After a moment of tension, they both calmed down slightly. Dawn, her back still turned to Dusk, began to walk away, but she was quickly stopped by her partner.

Anger still clouded his voice, though it wasn't as prevalent. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She quickly blocked the tears that were forming in her eyes from escaping. "...I-It's nothing. I'm just rambling. Let's get out of here!" she exclaimed, attempting to sound cheerful, but failing miserably. Dawn stood still, wondering if she got busted. After a moment without getting a reply, she started walking away, but once again, her teammate verbally forced her to stop.

"...I-I'm sorry," Dusk said in a much more calm tone. "But I really want to know what you meant by that..."

She didn't answer.

Dusk put the pieces together. "...Do you hate working for Rowan?"

Dawn tilted her head to her shoulder, letting Umbreon see one of her red-infested eyes. "I'll meet you at the east gate..." The crying caused her nose to stuff up, forcing her sentence to sound a bit congested. She put her eyes back in front of her and walked off.

Dusk heard the automatic doors open and close. He stood still, rage returning to him. Whether he was angry at Rowan, Dawn, or himself he wasn't sure, but his fist turned red from being clenched so hard.

The sound of high-heels clacking on the floor helped return his cool. "I feel terrible for eavesdropping on you, but I couldn't help but hear your conversation," the nurse said apologetically, stepping in front of Dusk. "I'm terribly sorry. Will she be OK?"

Dusk sighed before answering. "I hope so..." he replied less-than-confidently.

The nurse walked a bit closer to him. "I can't offer much help, but what I can tell you is, when I got that upset when I was a teenager, the only thing that could help me..."

Dusk looked up into her face to see the reason for the random pause.

She cocked her head slightly and winked at him. "...Was a good friend's shoulder to cry on."

A small smirk came to Dusk's face. "I think I might be able to help her with that."

The nurse stepped to the side, revealing the pathway to the exit. "Go. Chase after your friend. Don't let her feel alone. Not in a time like this."

"Right!" Feeling a bit pushed, Dusk dashed down the hallway. "Thanks for everything!" he screamed, running out the door.

A second later, the nurse heard the doors open back up. Umbreon walked back in and casually strolled to the counter. He took out a billfold and dropped some cash into the donation jar that laid on it. He looked back down the hallway to see the nurse watching him. He gave her a look that said, 'Thank you again,' then bolted back out the door.

The nurse couldn't help but smile.

Dusk looked up and down the street. Being in the morning, the town was much more active than it was last night. All of the people walking around blocked him from finding his friend. He gave one more quick glance up both sides of the street, then took off for the east gate, hoping Dawn was already there. "_Side-walk sales!?_" he exclaimed. "_My friend's going to hate me because I'm lost in the middle of a marketing program!?_" He tried to shake it off and continued running to the eastern exit as fast as sidestepping countless people would let him.

Finally, after half an hour --more than double of what it usually takes-- he reached his destination, leaving most of the crowd behind him. Dusk looked back one more time. "_I hate to tell that guy, but purple is just not his color_..." Resigning from his position as a fashion police officer, Dusk saw a girl draped over a sign. He gathered his words and walked over to her. "You know, I promise that if you cry on my shoulder, I won't give you splinters."

Dawn jumped up at the sudden voice behind her. Apparently, her sobbing had stopped her from hearing Dusk walk over. After recognizing who it was, she rubbed the tears from her eyes and turned around to look at him. "I told you, I'm fine..."

"You were crying into a wooden sign..." Dusk correctly recalled.

Dawn mentally hesitated, but finally ran up to her traveling companion and tied her arms around him, burying her head in his chest as the tears came back. "What's wrong with me?"

Dusk patted her on the back, knowing he had some cheering up to do. "Nothing's wrong with you."

"I've known you for a day and a half, and I've already cried to you three times..."

"That's what friends are there for."

"We're on an impossible mission..."

Dusk started singing the Mission: Impossible theme song with multiple 'doo's. This somehow made Dawn smile, but her tears wouldn't stop.

"Professor Rowan doesn't trust us..."

"If he didn't trust us, he would have never asked us to do this in the first place," Dusk wasn't intending to stop until she felt better.

Dawn buried her head further into his shirt and said something, but it was completely muffled. Dusk couldn't make out a single word of it. "What was that?"

She repeated it, but it was even harder to hear than the first time.

"It's okay, it's okay..." Dusk chanted, rubbing her back.

Minutes passed without another word being said. Her tears having slowed to a stop, Dawn let out a sigh and backed away from the hug, blushing. Her eyes turned to the dirt below them. "I-I'm sorry...I shouldn't be such a crybaby over every little thi--"

"Don't apologize," Dusk said, basking in his final moments as hero. "You have a lot of pressure to deal with, and I don't see what's wrong with expressing it...If you're intimidated by Professor Rowan, do what I do."

At first she was curious what he meant by 'pressure,' but the latter part of the sentence intrigued her more.

"Pretend he's wearing a bra. Or, there's an axe murderer behind him. Or, best of the options, both!" Dusk explained. A smile came to his face when he finally got Dawn to laugh.

"Hey!" a voice called from a few yards away.

They looked up to see Brendan running towards them, with May soon behind him. This time, there wasn't a Torchic on her shoulder.

The only blue-haired person in the group lifted her Pokétch up. It was actually just a little bit past 07:00, so it was odd seeing their temporary companions here already. She decided against asking.

"Glad you guys are already here. Seems we might run into a slight hitch in the system," Brendan alerted.

"What's up?" Dusk replied. He would have let Dawn do it, but he didn't want to take the chance that Dawn's crying had affected her voice. The last thing he needed was for these two to think he had done something to Dawn.

May spoke up. "The weatherman on Jubilife TV said it was going to reach as high as 95 degrees today, so..."

Neither Sinnoh Trainer liked the thought of traveling around with heat like that attacking them the entire day.

"May and I got talking, and we decided that if you guys just want to lay low for today, that's perfectly understandable. We'll just find our way to Oreburgh ourselves. No big deal. Not like we've never walked around blindly before," Brendan laughed.

Discouraging as it was to even think about reaching Oreburgh in such scorching temperatures, Dusk made his decision. "Nah, we need to get to Oreburgh ourselves, and staying here all day won't help." He looked over at Dawn, who nodded at him. He was quite glad he had made the right decision.

"Alright, I like that!" Brendan complimented. "We only have about three hours before the hottest point of the day kicks in, so we better shut up and get moving."

They began their jaunt. At first, the four Trainers walked together, but the boys eventually found themselves in the lead with the two girls in back.

Brendan leaned over and whispered to Dusk. "I don't mean to pry, but is something wrong with your girl?"

Dusk blushed at hearing Dawn get called his girlfriend. He shook it off and got words to leave his mouth. "Nope, nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?"

"Well, she was just so perky at the restaurant last night, now she hasn't even spoken a word to me..." Brendan explained.

"...Huh. I'll have to talk to her about that later," Dusk lied through his teeth. He knew Dawn was just too shook up to talk to anybody at the moment.

The day continued on with the group remaining the same way. The heat began to rain down on them relentlessly.

May decided to break the awkward silence she had with Dawn. "So how are you today, umm...?"

"Oh! I just remembered that I never actually told you our names, did I?" Dawn looked at her female teammate, answering May's implied question. "I'm Dawn. You can call him Dusk."

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you, Dawn," May smiled. "I really don't want to hurt our friendship by starting out on the wrong foot or anything, Dawn, but..." Her voice trailed away.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked concerned.

May closed her eyes and cleared her throat, then started to make a motion in front of her as if she was zipping up a coat.

Dawn didn't quite get it at first. Then she realized that her entire body was perspiring, which doesn't bode well for a woman with a white T-shirt on. Blood rushing to her face faster then it ever had before, she turned around and started walking backwards, messing with the zipper on her black vest. Eventually she zipped the accessory together, blocking her wet shirt from view. She turned back around and sighed deeply. "Thank you so much..."

May playfully stuck her tongue out.

Dawn wasn't looking forward to traveling in these temperatures with a dark vest tied on her, but she decided it'd be much better to be even warmer than she already was then to walk about in plain view like that. Especially with two men in the group.

The boys slowed down and waited for the girls to catch up. May looked over at both of her escorts. "Are you two okay? You look like you're going to pass out..."

Dusk and Dawn were growing weak at an alarming rate of speed. Both were sweating without control and constantly gasping for air.

Brendan leaned over to May. "Safe to say they don't have as much traveling experience as us..." he whispered.

"Maybe we should find some shade and relax for awhile," May whispered back.

Brendan looked back over at the two, specifically Dawn. She was fighting to keep her eyes open. "Good point."

Out of the blue, Dawn started laughing. The other three turned their heads at her. "You know something, Dusk?" She wiped sweat from her forehead, just below her bandana. "Remember last night, when I got so cold I couldn't get to sleep?" She looked up at the cloudless sky. "What I'd do to have to go through that again right about now..."

Dusk laughed with her. The other two smiled, understanding it was an inside joke.

"C'mon, let's relax over here for awhile!" Brendan pointed to the base of a large tree they were nearing. Its multitude of branches and leaves provided a wide area of shade to rest in. There was atleast a few yards between the start of the shade and the actual tree.

They all sat down at the edges of the shade, Dusk and Dawn landing on the ground much harder than the other two. They laid down next to each other. "Now if only we could get a nice breeze through here, it'd be perfect..." Dawn daydreamed.

The Hoenn travelers reached for their backpacks and took out one bowl each. May's contained rotini pasta that was previously cooked, and Brendan's simply held bread with various vegetables on the side, clearly meant for creating sandwiches.

Brendan started working on his meal, but May couldn't eat hers. "Are...Aren't you two going to eat anything?" she inquired softly to Dawn and Dusk, who were still draped on the grass.

"It's a little funny," Dusk said without getting up. "We kinda got doing something else, and might have possibly forgotten to pack any food," he laughed at his own embarrassment.

May didn't find it humorous. "Oh..."

"May? You alright?" Brendan topped his lettuce sandwich with another piece of bread.

May reached back into her bag and pulled out two plastic forks. She set them in the plastic container on top of the pasta, then slid it between the Sinnoh Trainers. "Here, you two can eat this!" she insisted brightly, wearing a cute smile.

They both sat up. "What? No, we couldn't eat your food! It was our own stupid fault!" Dawn shouted, hate towards May building for taunting them with food.

"It's okay. Eat it. I had alot at breakfast this morning anyway," May rubbed the back of her head. She got up, walked to the tree, and leaned on it, all in order to get away from the rest of the team. If her stomach uncontrollably growled, she didn't want anybody else to hear it. After all, it might do that, since she didn't actually have anything for breakfast.

Dusk and Dawn looked at each other, having a conversation in their minds. "_Why would she let us eat her food when she barely knows us...?_"Dawn wondered.

"_I'm so desperate right about now, I'm willing to actually eat that pasta, even though it has absolutely no flavor to it_..." Dusk was a bit embarrassed at his greed. In his defense, he had never had Italian food without sauce on it before. He smiled. "_Yeah, I'm a spoiled little_..."

Clearly, the Trainers weren't on the same wavelength. They picked up the forks that were laying in the bowl and began eating.

Brendan got up and walked over to May. She had a small smile on her face, no doubt due to watching Dusk and Dawn scarfing her meal down. The oldest male split his sandwich down the middle with his hands and gave half of it to his partner. "You know, if you keep bailing them out like this, they'll never learn to stand on their own two feet," Brendan mentioned softly, almost to a whisper.

"I know, but look how tired they are...This heat is eating them alive. If they continued on without getting some strength...Well, I don't know what would happen, but I don't want to know, either..." May said in something of a whining voice, simultaneously observing the half sandwich she held in her hand.

Brendan leaned on the same tree, on May's left, and took a bite of his lunch. "You really care about them, don't you?"

"They're good people, Brendan...And I--"

"Oh, here we go. Here comes the goody-two-shoes part," Brendan teased.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" she snapped back, accidentally forgetting the other two were just a yard or two away.

Dusk and Dawn looked back at the two near the tree to make sure everything was alright, but soon resumed finishing up the rotini.

"I'm sorry. You were saying?" Brendan let her continue.

May started kicking at the dirt surrounding the base of the tree. "Well, I was just kind of hoping we could stay in Sinnoh longer than we planned..."

She heard a slight moan come from her partner.

"I know that the contest in Hoenn is just a couple of months away now, but I really enjoy being around them..."

"Wouldn't that go back to the whole 'standing on their own feet' thing we just talked about?" Brendan argued, even though he was already more than willing to surrender. He just wanted to see if May would answer his questions.

"It's not like we'd have to be with them every waking minute," May defended her claim. "But, I..." Her voice trailed off.

"But you just want to hang around with a girl for a change, am I right?" Brendan busted her.

May blushed. Those weren't the exact words she was going to use, but that was where she was going with it.

Brendan smiled and drew closer to her. "Whatever your excuse is, I suppose we can stay awhile longer." He leaned in and gave May a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Just remember that we can't step on their toes. They're going to have to learn how to take a few losses if they're ever going to be decent Trainers."

"Thank you," May beamed, though never looking at her teammate. She began nibbling on the lettuce that was hanging out from the bread.

Finished, Dusk threw his fork back into the bowl and laid down on the grass, closing his eyes.

Dawn looked at her Pokétch. "One 'a clock..." she notified, sounding insecure. She bent her knees and rested her head on them, letting out a deep breath.

Dusk sat back up. "Are you still worried?"

"I don't want to bother you anymore..." Dawn shook the question off.

"But I want you to. Er, you're not bothering me!" Dusk corrected himself. "We're just...you know, friends now, and I want to make sure we both know that we can talk to each other about everything. Except cats. I don't like cats."

Dawn smirked. "This, coming from a person that's named after an Umbreon?"

"OUCH! Burn," Dusk admitted his defeat, causing Dawn to laugh.

She quickly returned to her depressed state. "I just can't believe that I have three months to impress one of the greatest Pokémon scientists the world's known..." She quickly buried her head back between her knees.

"You're not impressing a scientist. You're impressing America's Next Top Model, remember?"

Dawn laughed again. The exhausted girl put her hands on the grass behind her back, resting her head on the back of her collarbone. She observed the sky that she loved so much. "You aren't taking this seriously, are you?"

"Sorry...My family isn't exactly one to talk problems out, so I'm used to joking my way out of things like this..."

Dawn looked at her partner. "Well, I'd say you did a pretty good job helping me back at the east gate," she smiled.

"Thanks," he said blandly, though genuinely glad to receive a compliment like that. "But I have to give credit where credit's due. I did have a little help with it." He almost started laughing, recalling in his mind the talk with the Pokémon Center nurse that he had.

"You know..." Dawn cut her smile and looked at a few threads of grass that had somehow attached themselves to her knee. "I might...feel more comfortable...if I knew that you were scared, too."

Dusk looked at her curiously.

"Then I would know that...I'm not going through this alone," she finished.

"Of course you're not going through this alone!" Dusk applied firmly. "I'll always be by your side..."

Dawn's heart skipped a beat.

"...until this is over, anyway."

"Oh..." Dawn calmed down. She couldn't tell if she felt relieved or disappointed by his last sentence. "Hey...Dusk?"

"Yeah?"

"You're scared too...right?" It sounded like tears were returning to Dawn's eyes, though they weren't.

"You know that, as a man, I can't answer that truthfully..." Dusk noted, defending his pride. "...But as a friend, I can give you a solid 'yes,'" he finished, letting out a small sigh.

"Well, Mr. Man..." A voice came up behind him and put its arm on his shoulder. "We should get going."

Dusk sprung up and glared back at Brendan. "Hey! That was a private conversation!"

"Chill, I just heard that part."

May and Dawn giggled at their friends' fighting. May was still only half way through the sandwich.

Brendan and May picked up the plastic containers that still laid on the ground and shoved them back in their bags. The group started walking together, but eventually turned into the same formation it had before, with Dusk and Brendan in the front and Dawn and May in the rear. This time, they got separated that way on purpose. Atleast, to the Hoenn Trainers.

"Dawn?" May started softly.

"Mm-hm?" Dawn replied, holding down her scarf from the sudden gust of wind that passed through.

"I...I don't want to be a bother, and I completely understand if you say no, but..."

May paused, letting Dawn get in a sentence. "You're not a bother. I have fun hanging around with you! There aren't many girls in the Town I live in," she sighed.

May was relieved at the reply. "Would it be too much to ask if Brendan and I could join you? I mean...maybe longer than we had planned?"

"What? Really? Oh, I mean...Sure you can! Let me go tell Dusk!" Her pace turned from walking to running in order to catch up to Dusk. Somehow, the heat wasn't affecting her as much. Her bag dangled from her arm as she tried to catch up to the boys.

Being left behind, May smiled. She was happy she'd finally get to enjoy the company of other people besides when she passed through a Town. "_I love Brendan, but four years later, it'd be nice to see a new face every once in a while_," she smirked.

"Hey, Dusk!" Dawn called out, being just a short distance behind her friend.

Dusk stopped and turned around, causing Brendan to stop as well. "What is it?"

"May said she and Brendan wanted to hang out with us for awhile," she shot a quick glance at Brendan, then back at Dusk. "It's alright, right?"

Dusk looked at Brendan. His head and eyes were in the opposite direction of the two, but he couldn't hide that he was smiling.

"_She could have atleast waited until we got to Oreburgh to ask them_..." The older of the boys thought.

Dusk turned back to Dawn. "Sure, I don't see why not..." he replied, still caught off guard.

"Great!" Dawn said with unusual perk. The group continued, but Dawn waited for May to catch up to her.

"How long have you had that planned...?" Dusk asked Brendan for his own curious reasons.

"I don't know where May came up with that one," Brendan lied, refusing to make eye-contact with his new teammate.

"Did he say it was OK?" May asked Dawn.

"Yep!" was the reply, ebulliently as before.

"I really hope we don't slow you down..." May's eyes turned to the ground.

"Of course not! How could having a few extra people around hurt?" Dawn reassured her. "Now that I know that we're friends," she changed the subject. "we need to learn how to gossip on the boys."

They both laughed, perhaps sub-consciously knowing that their meeting last night was more than blind luck.

The sunset in the west told them that the day was soon ending. They had reached a cave.

"Alright!" Brendan gave them all a morale boost. "If I read that map the other day right, Oreburgh City should be just beyond this cave."

Dawn began shivering and stepped back slowly.

"Dawn? What's wrong?" Dusk asked.

A second later, she snapped back to reality. "...What?"

"You're shaking up a storm over there..." Brendan reminded her of the question.

"What? No, I'm not. Come on, we need to get through this cave if we ever want to hit Oreburgh!" Dawn walked ahead of her friends, Dusk on her right, May and Brendan on the left.

They watched her, then looked at each other, all of them having a worried expression on their faces. Eventually, they silently agreed to follow her.

Dawn bit her lip. "_It won't happen again...It won't happen again_..." she repeated in her mind.

They walked into the large hole in the side of a mountain. It really wasn't that long; as soon as they stepped in, they could already see the exit in the distance. Otherwise, it began to get too dark to really identify much of anything.

"_It won't...happen again...It won't...happen_..." Dawn felt her face flush red. She was thankful it was dark, so nobody else in their party could see her. She suddenly began to get unhealthily warm. Her face started getting soaked in sweat. Her head got light...Afterwards, her legs gave out. She dropped to her knees, then her entire body hit the floor. Her arms were laying above her head. "Dawn!!" was the last thing she heard before her eyes closed.

Dusk bolted over to his fallen partner and knelt down next to her. Brendan and May followed quickly.

"Dawn! Dawn, get up!!" Dusk pushed Dawn's shoulders, but she didn't give a response.

"Quick, let's get her to Oreburgh! Maybe somebody can help us there! I'll run ahead and ask the Pokémon Center if they can help!" Brendan dashed off at amazing speeds through the black-as-night cavern.

May helped Dusk get their friend on his shoulders. After making sure Dusk had a good grip on her legs, they chased after Brendan.

Water sprang from May's eyes as she ran alongside Dusk, holding Dawn's hand. "You're going to be alright, Dawn!" she constantly repeated to comfort all three of them.

At the sound of May's tear-filled voice, Dusk also wanted to start crying, but knew that if he lost control, Dawn might panic. He forced himself to stay strong.

It was too dark for either of them to know she had fainted.

They got to the exit of the cave to see Brendan outside the PokéCenter, pointing at it. He ran back inside the building, and the trio soon followed.

"Alright, Chansey..." The nurse inside looked vaguely familiar to the one back in Jubilife. "Wheel the stretcher over here, then get her to room 12, stat!"

"Chansey!" The Pokémon nodded in agreement, a rather rude smile on its face, then rushed the stretcher over to Dusk. Dusk, May, Brendan, and the nurse all helped Dawn get on the stretcher.

Now under the artificial light of the Pokémon Center, everybody could see a bit more of Dawn's condition. Her eyes were closed, and she was sweating uncontrollably, possibly even worse than when the sun was at its peak earlier. Her chest inflated and deflated at a much more rapid rate than what could be defined as 'normal.'

Dusk's head sank and his open hand became a fist as the nurse, Chansey, and Brendan ran his newfound companion down a hallway behind the counter.

May stayed behind to help cheer Dusk up...or to possibly get cheered up herself. She put her arms on his shoulders. "I'm sure she's going to be alright..." Hard as she tried, May couldn't get the sentence to come out sounding confident. Tears still rained down her face.

"May..." Dusk began quietly.

The girl's sapphire eyes didn't leave her new friend's beret.

Dusk lost it. He turned around and put a hand on May's shoulder and leaned his head against it, beginning to cry. May changed her grip from his shoulders and gave his lower back a tight squeeze.

"Let it out..." May also began crying on Dusk's shoulder.

A few hours passed. Dusk and May were sitting in two of the three seats that were next to the door in the lobby. May knew she was old enough to go in the back and see why neither of them had heard any news yet, but she refused to leave Dusk's side. In the third seat lay a Pikachu, sleeping. Neither of them knew where it came from, nor did they even notice it until they took their seats next to it. They decided that now was a bad time to press the issue.

"May, I..."

May's head turned to Dusk at his words, which broke the otherwise silent night.

"...I wanted to apologize."

"Everybody has to let their feelings out, Dusk...I mean, just because you're a boy, that doesn't mean--"

"No, I don't mean about that," he interrupted. "It was...something else. Forget it." Dusk didn't want to tell her that his apology was referring to what he had called her behind her back when they were in the restaurant last night.

"Oh...well, apology accepted!" May tried to sound cheerful, but even though the tears stopped, she just couldn't get her mind off of the random conversations she had with Dawn while on the way here. Those thoughts were enough to drag her cheerfulness into the dirt.

Dusk pulled his beret over his eyes and leaned his head back on the wall. "I knew I could never do this..."

"Hm? Do what?" May asked.

Dusk remained without much emotion. "Just...I don't know. Be a good friend, I guess..."

"If you weren't a good friend, you would have just dragged Dawn here, not put her comfortably on your shoulders!" May reasoned.

"Any good samaritan would have done that," Dusk countered, still not so much as flinching.

"_He's blaming himself too much for this_..." May thought. She got up, walked past Dusk, and didn't stop until she reached the chair that the Pikachu was on. She got down on one knee and started petting it behind its ear. It still didn't wake up, though it seemed to enjoy being stroked in that spot. "How long have you and Dawn been traveling together?"

"I don't know...about two days, I guess," he replied.

May almost fell over. She was ready to hear the word 'months' or 'years.' "Um...Have you known her before you two teamed up?"

"Oh, sure. We had talked for atleast an hour beforehand." Dusk still couldn't stop blaming himself, and his voice proved it.

May smiled and started stroking the electric rat's entire body with her gloved hand. "Dawn seemed to be so happy around you, for her knowing you for two days and one hour..."

"She took to you pretty quickly as well." Dusk was determined to find a loophole in everything May said.

"That's because she doesn't have alot of other female friends."

Dusk sat up straight in his chair and lifted up his beret, looking at May, who was still watching the cute Pikachu sleep.

May was glad Dusk finally moved, though she only saw him out of the corner of her eye. "Sometimes, girls just need to talk to their own kind," she giggled at defining women as some sort of alien species. She looked up at Dusk. "I'm sure you've turned to your dad or brother for advice about girls, hm?"

Before he could respond, May stopped petting the stray Pikachu and stood up. "Can you stand up for a minute, please?"

Dusk obeyed.

May put her hands on his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes, so, without a shadow of a doubt, he knew he could trust what May was going to say. "Dusk..." she planned her words carefully. "What happened with Dawn is not your fault. You are not a bad friend in any sense of the word. Making Dawn laugh all day, helping her back in the cave, and even comforting me when I got upset...In a single day, you've proven so much loyalty and friendship to me, and I can promise you that Dawn feels the same way." Though it was short, it felt to May that it took her hours to say that.

After a second of staring at each other, Dusk gave May a hug as thanks. She was more than happy to return the favor.

Their hug was interrupted when somebody cleared their throat in the hallway behind the counter. "As much as I love seeing another guy in my girl's arms, I thought I'd come see what you two were up to."

"Oh, Brendan..." May blushed, realizing the situation probably looked pretty bad to him.

"No, don't explain. I've seen enough. I'll just have to punish you later, that's all." Brendan walked out from behind the counter and pecked May on her cheek.

Dusk's eye twitched at the thought of what Brendan meant by 'punish.' His worry broke him out of the stupor. "How's Dawn? Is she hurt?"

"She probably knows about it more than I do." Brendan pointed down the hallway.

There, at the entrance to the hallway where Brendan stood a second ago, was Dawn. One of her eyes was closed, but her other one looked at the three in the lobby with tenderness. She was leaning on a single crutch which was placed under her left arm, gripping the handle with her left hand. In her right hand was her bandana that, obviously, wasn't around her hair anymore. There was a mark of dirt on the right side of her face where she had landed on the ground. "...I didn't miss dinner, did I?" she struggled to get out.

The nurse came out and put her hand on Dawn's shoulder from behind.

Dusk ran over to her. "What happened? How are you? Why do you have the crutch? Are you hurt? Was--"

"Dusk, Dusk!" The boy received Dawn's headgear in his face while she tried indicating a stopping motion with her hand. "Please, Dusk, the only question I want to hear right now is from a stranger asking if I want a drink with the meal..." She hobbled past him and made her way to the chair May was sitting in earlier. She rested the crutch on the arm of the chair and let out a sigh of relief, glad everything might start calming down soon.

"What happened?" May whispered to Brendan.

"Maybe this isn't the best place for it..." he said back in the same volume.

Dawn watched the doors of the Pokémon Center open and close as the Hoenn Trainers stepped outside.

As Dusk sat down in the seat next to Dawn, the latter started laughing.

"Hey, Dusk, remember those dreams everybody had when they were little, about them actually becoming a Pokémon? After being healed in a Pokémon Center, let me tell you that it's not that great," she resumed laughing.

----------------

Brendan and May walked over to a bench and sat down next to each other. It was extremely quiet, with nothing but the electricity of the street lamps being faintly heard.

"She's fine," Brendan started. "Nothing serious happened. From the nurse's best guess, she just went into a small coma. She eve--"

"Going into a coma is something 'not serious'!?" May snapped back, worried about her hospitalized friend.

"She's doing better, isn't she? You watched her walk over and sit down in the chair," Brendan replied, somehow not angry at May's quick response.

"Yeah, on crutches..." May's gaze turned to a crack in the sidewalk. The normal shine in her eyes were dim.

"That's just for support. She doesn't actually need it."

May looked back up at her boyfriend with a surprised expression.

"Despite the coolness in her voice, she's still pretty shook up over the entire thing. The crutch is just there for a third leg if nervousness takes out the other two. That's why she doesn't have another one," Brendan finished explaining.

May smiled slyly. "You don't remember her name, do you?" She took notice of the heavy use of pronouns he's been describing their teammates with.

"Dusk, or somethin'? I dunno..." Brendan was embarrassed that she was actually right; he didn't know their names.

"No, that's the boy. Dawn is the girl. If they're going to be our new friends, the least you could do is keep their names straight." May gave Brendan a playful shove.

"That's the second naughty thing you've done to me tonight, young lady. I'm going to have to punish you for that one right now." Brendan leaned closer until his lips were touching May's.

The doors to the Pokémon Center swung open. Dusk had his arms on Dawn's shoulders, helping her keep her balance as they began exiting the building. They passed where their friends were enveloped in a romantic kiss.

Continuing walking on by, Dusk started coughing violently. "Getaroom," he muttered in-between the coughs.

Brendan broke the kiss and turned his head to Dusk, who had already walked by him. "Yeah, you're one to talk, Mr. Man."

Dusk instantly reacted by taking his hands off of Dawn's shoulders. "We're just friends!" he sneered without turning around.

"Whatever you say, player. Go get 'er, cowboy!" Brendan continued teasing.

May chuckled. Dawn, though she was also being referenced, couldn't stop herself from laughing at her closest companion's expense as well. Dusk was much too embarrassed to continue arguing and started walking again.

"Where are you two going, anyway?" May asked.

Dusk didn't mind answering her. "Just to the first random food joint we find, to get Dawn something to eat."

"Sure you are!" Brendan chimed in. "You know, there's a reason that they're lovin' it. Are you taking out, or just going to do it on the table where everybody can see you?"

Dusk smirked and looked back at his soon-to-be rival. "We're going to do it where everybody can see us. Do you guys mind moving over? The bench attracts this street light really well."

Dusk and Dawn, the latter still laughing at the boys' verbal war, walked away. Brendan sat blankly, stunned that he'd been put in his place like that.

"Come on, Brendan...Give them a little space," May begged.

"Not after that!" he shouted. "Now I need to come up with something good to get back at him with..."

Brendan stretched his arm around the backside of the bench, inviting May to lean on his shoulder. To his surprise, she leaned closer and rested her head on his lap. They looked into the starry sky, silently thinking to themselves all the events that had happened today.

------------

Dusk helped Dawn get into the booth. She slid her crutch on the other side of her while Dusk walked across to the other side of the table and sat down. On the table between them was a red tray with food on one side, and nothing but a paper cup filled with water on the other.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" Dawn asked worriedly. "I feel bad taking all this food, and all you have is a cup with the Hamburgler on it..."

"Don't feel bad. I wouldn't. I just can't eat right now, I guess..." he explained while pounding a vertically wide, circular piece of paper on the table, trying to force the straw that was inside out of the top.

"Brendan was just having some fun, Dusk..." Dawn spread the fries she ordered on a napkin, hoping Dusk would take one. She grabbed a few of her own into her hand. "...Don't get mad at him for that."

"No, it's not because of that." Dusk handed Dawn the straw that finally came out to slip into her soda cup. "I mean...well, you know..."

Dawn momentarily stopped chomping down on fries. "You don't...blame yourself for what happened to me, do you?"

Dusk's gaze turned toward the Hamburgler's hat.

"Umbreon, that had nothing to do with you!"

He cringed. He'd never been called his actual name by Dawn before. "I mean, when I asked you what was wrong before entering the cave, you flinched, and..."

"So you blame yourself because you were worried about me? That you somehow affected why I passed out in the cave like that?" Dawn set her elbows on the table, forgetting there was even food there. She was too involved in the conversation to remember something like that. "Dusk, that's called looking out for a friend, not hurting her."

Dusk mentally shook off the intimidation getting yelled at by Dawn when she wasn't wearing her bandana gave him. He stood up and turned around. The only other person in the entire building was the cashier, who was too busy cleaning a table in the far corner to pay attention to what was happening on the other side of the room. "Back when..." he started off, but decided to change his words. "In Rowan's place, when you first...opened up to me..."

Dawn nodded, though Dusk's back was turned, so she knew he couldn't see it.

"...When I comforted you by doing nothing but talking to you, I felt like I achieved something. As you can imagine, in the no-name Town that I live in, not much goes on, and when it is, I'm always 'too young' to be a part of it. Helping you was the first time I ever felt that achievement feeling." Dusk hoped his story wasn't too complicated.

Dawn wiped her mouth off with a napkin. "Then?"

"Then, when you fell in the cave and wouldn't reply when I called to you, I..." He couldn't find the words to continue on.

Dawn got up from the table and walked over to him. Her mind was too busy to think about needing the support that the crutch gave her. She put her hand on one of his shoulders. "Am I really the first person, besides your family, that you can relate to?"

Dusk became paralyzed at the sudden question. He wasn't really sure where she pulled that from.

She accepted his silence as his answer and put her hand back at her side. "Could you turn around, Dusk? Please?"

He rubbed his eyes and complied. Dawn didn't know if he rubbed his eyes to keep himself awake, as it was getting late, or if tears actually came to his eyes.

"What happened when I didn't talk to you after...the cave?" She wanted to know where his earlier sentence was going.

Dusk looked at the floor, ignoring the random junk that people threw on it. With his head lowered, Dawn couldn't see his eyes. "I felt...I couldn't help you. The words that I relied on so much to help weren't being heard. For the first time...you had a problem, but you didn't cry on my shirt as I talked you through the tears..."

Dawn saw waterdrops hit the floor. Dusk rubbed his eyes one more time. Dawn reached for his chin and tilted his head up. His eyes were filled to the brim with not tears, but sorrow and regret. "Dusk...Am I the first friend you've had?"

"Yes, okay!?" He slapped her hand off of his chin and stormed a few steps away. "Yes, you are! There, I admitted it. You want to rub it in my face now that I'm such a loser?" Dusk lost control of himself.

"...No," Though firm, Dawn's word was gentle, breaking him out of his anger. "Now that I know that this is your first friendship, I know that you've never had the chance to realize what's involved in one..." She looked at the floor and shyly continued. "So, I guess...In a way...I'm not surprised you blame yourself for this...I mean, no offense! It's just..."

"...So I actually helped you?" Though not showing it much, Dusk was feeling much better.

"Of course! What was I going to do? Fly my way to the hospital? Dusk, when your words didn't reach me, you did exactly what you needed to do, and on top of that, you did it on an impulse, too."

"...D-Dawn, could I...?"

Her eyes shined in the artificial light as she smiled. "I've been wanting one from a friend since I became conscious again..."

Dusk ran up to Dawn and hugged her. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment, and returned it.

They sat back down to the table and Dawn reached for the hamburger she had ordered. It had gotten somewhat cold during their conversation. She broke it in half and slid one half to Dusk. "You haven't eaten since lunch, right? Here..." She turned Dusk's paper cup around so the character printed on it was looking at him. "Make the Hamburgler jealous by getting to the hamburger before he does."

Dusk, bribed by the girl's childish trick, began partaking of the high-calorie snack. "Ha! Take that, you thief!" he shouted at the paper cup, which startled Dawn.

Minutes passed, and the door to the building opened. The Trainers looked over to see who would possibly be entering this building so late at night. The white-haired man spotted the two and walked over to them. He found Dusk watching Dawn trying her hardest to tear apart the bag that was covering their complimentary cookie.

"Having your girl do all your work for you, eh, Dawn?" He purposely mixed their names up.

"...Hello to you too, Brendan," Dusk said smugly. "If you're looking for the playground, it's right through that door."

Dawn shot a glare at him, disapproving of his hostility.

"It's cool. I deserve that. I actually came here to apologize. Some of the stuff I said was a bit, er, much," he admitted.

"No problem," Dusk said, offering him his hand to shake. "_Now we're even for when I called your girlfriend a slut_," he thought, though the smile on his face didn't fade.

After shaking Dusk's hand, Brendan turned to the woman of the group. "How are you doing, Dawn?"

"Alot better, thanks." She continued eating her fries.

"Well," Brendan reached for his own fried potato. "I also came by to thank you for reserving a room for me and May in the Pokémon Center tonight. It's good to know that the youngsters in this group are responsible when the older ones are outside making out on a public bench." He had to admit that the earlier scene was awkward at best.

"How long have you and May been traveling together?" Dawn changed the subject.

"Oh, I don't know...We first met a few days before she beat the crap out of me in the 32nd annual Pokémon Contest Challenge in Hoenn...The upcoming one is the 36th, so I guess for about four years or so," Brendan recalled.

"You met in a Contest Battle?" Dawn was really starting to get interested.

"Yep. I remember it all too well. That stupid Squirtle and its stupid...Anyway, it's getting late, and I got to get back to my catch. I'll explain more tomorrow, if you're still interested," he told Dawn specifically. "I'll let you two lovebirds go back to your grease-covered cage."

"We're just friends..." Dusk said with his teeth clenched.

"Still nothing, eh? Just keep casting that net, you're bound to get her sometime, buddy." He patted Dusk on the shoulder before quickly taking his leave.

Dusk was expecting Dawn to start laughing again. To his surprise, she was actually blushing.

She noticed him staring at her. "...What? You try being compared to a fish in front of your best friend..."

Dusk was stunned. "Do you--"

She nodded her head twice, hoping the silent answer would drop the conversation.

They sat at the table for the longest time talking about various things that's happened in their adventure so far, and a few things that may happen in the future. They decided to leave when Dusk looked at his Pokétch and saw it to be 00:52 already. Where the night went they weren't sure. Dawn grabbed the crutch, though she didn't need it anymore, and they walked out of the building and started back to the Pokémon Center, ready to finally put this day behind them.


	4. Rescue Operation

The nurse waited until 08:30 to open up the door to the room Dawn and Dusk had stayed in. Dusk's head was peeking over the top bunk bed. They were both laughing at Charmy's random antics, who was out of his Pokéball. They heard the door open and turned their heads. Dawn's dirt mark on her face had disappeared, and she definitely didn't need the crutch anymore.

"Good morning," the nurse began. "I'm terribly sorry for interrupting you, but would you step into the lobby for just a second, Dawn?"

Dawn looked at Dusk who was just as curious as she was. "S-Sure." She followed the nurse out, with Dusk trailing behind her. Charmy made his escape as well.

A moment later, they arrived at the lobby. "Sit in the chair, please," the doctor ordered while walking to the other side of the counter.

Dawn did so, starting to get apprehensive. She smiled at the Pikachu in the chair next to her, who was miraculously still sleeping.

The nurse walked back with a medium-sized piece of plastic and set it in front of Dawn. It leaned from one side of the chair's armrest to the other.

May, with Brendan right behind, also walked in. "What's going on?" they asked, basically simultaneously.

"I have to apologize to you, Dawn," the nurse said, sounding a bit unusually rough. Her voice changed back as her face grew a smile. "I forgot to give you this."

"A...piece of plastic...?" Dawn's mind was searching everywhere for where this was heading.

The nurse dug in her pocket and pulled out a needle.

Dawn gasped and bit her lip. "Wha...What is that?"

"This injection will help you not go through what you went through again," she comforted. Atleast, tried to. She grabbed Dawn's arm, extended it, and started feeling around the joint where the elbow connects the arm, searching for a place to stick the needle. She took a cotton ball that was previously dampened and rubbed across the area.

Water was starting to form in Dawn's eyes. She had been terrified of needles for as long as she could remember.

Sensing her fear, Dusk ran over to the arm that wasn't getting a needle stuck through it and grabbed Dawn's hand, squeezing it tightly. He bent down on one knee to get closer to eye-level with her. "Relax, Dawn. All of us are right here. Nothing's going to happen to you."

Brendan really wanted to take this chance to get another crack in, but knew it was past inappropriate at this point.

Dawn nodded her head at Dusk's speech. She closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears. She was starting to get quite sick of crying all the time.

"Don't worry about anything, Dawn. This hardly hurts at all." The nurse gripped the needle tightly and jammed it into Dawn's arm.

Despite the nurse's words, it felt like she had been stabbed in the heart with a butcher knife. That is, however, until she started feeling light-headed. Moments later, her head hit the piece of plastic, and her grip on Dusk's hand loosened.

"That, my friends, is why you don't administer this serum while standing on a hardwood floor," the nurse taught, tapping her foot on the floor she had described.

"Is she OK?" May almost began crying again. Charmy, somehow already taking a liking to May, jumped into her arms to try to help.

"She'll be fine in a few seconds. Out of all the times I've had to give somebody this shot, 88 percent of them became unconscious for a few minutes. It's the result of the serum virtually working against everything in her body."

"Working against...her?" Dusk picked out words from her sentence.

The nurse nodded. "Did Brendan or Dawn tell either of you the reason she went into a coma so suddenly?"

Dusk and May looked at each other, then at Brendan, who was rubbing his messy white hair. "I guess it might have slipped my mind..."

May growled at him. "That's a somewhat important detail to just forget about!"

The fight ended when the nurse's voice rang through the room again. "It's called Coronosis, and usually affects only females, for some reason. There's a certain difference in the air while inside of a mountain when compared to the rest of the world, and people that have Coronosis suffer because of it. Some people are affected by it much more seriously than others. It seems poor Dawn has the worst case I've seen yet...Nobody I know has been so badly affected by the small passageway entering this city. It usually only happens to people entering Mount Coronet, which is what the disease is named after."

"So this serum will stop that from ever happening again, right?" Dusk was leery of the entire thing.

"Unfortunately..." The nurse didn't realize how bad of a start that was until she said it. "Doctors haven't found a way to create a sure-proof medicine for Coronosis."

"So what, it's random?!" Dusk screamed unnecessarily. "We could reach the top of Coronet just fine, then all of a sudden she drops dead because of random chance!?"

The nurse turned all of her attention to the talkative boy, admittedly doing everything she mentally could to stop herself from entering her own temper tantrum. "Have you ever heard the story of good and evil?"

Dusk couldn't help but wonder what kind of a question that was. "Um..."

"Though you may pledge allegiance to one side, in reality, there is nothing physically, mentally, or spiritually stopping you from changing to the other. Metaphorically, this serum is the same. It's only as strong as Dawn's will is."

Poor boy was even more confused.

"Let me put it like this," the nurse announced. "If Dawn believes the serum will work, it will. If her faith fails, the Coronosis may come back. In essence, the effectiveness is based on Dawn's mind."

Dusk was insulted that this was turning out to be some game, but his thoughts shifted when the doors to the PokéCenter opened.

With the doors opening, Dawn also started picking her head off from the miniature table. "What...happened?" she mumbled, her head still in throbbing pain.

"Dawn!" Dusk shouted, quite relieved to see she was alright.

Brendan, May, and the nurse, however, didn't take their eyes off the stranger who had entered the building. His black shirt and blue jeans covered his big boned body. The back of his shirt had a picture of a Gyrados with the word 'GO!' above it. He was almost bald, with nothing but hair on the sides of his head. It was an unusual orange color, making himself look even worse than he was already. Nonetheless, he had a very macho expression on his face, and he looked rather angry.

He glanced around the building a few times before walking past the group and to the Pikachu.

It, waking up, looked at him in fear.

"There you are, you worthless rodent!" As if yelling at it wasn't bad enough, he slapped it in the face. Putting up little to no resistance, the semi-light assault actually caused it to roll over and hit the back of the chair. "What, you thought you could hide from me? Come on!!" He grabbed Pikachu by the ear and started to leave.

Dawn sprung to life, causing the plastic to fall on the floor in front of her. She quickly felt light-headed from getting up so fast, but refused to let it physically show. "What do you think you're doing to that Pikachu?!"

The man turned around and faced her. "I'm taking my Pikachu with me, female dog. Got a problem with that?"

"Don't talk to her like that!" Dusk defended, swiftly rising to his feet.

Dawn turned to Dusk, catching him by surprise. "Stay out of this!" Her attention quickly went back to the bully. "I challenge you to a one-on-one battle!" She pointed her index finger at him. "If I win, the Pikachu stays with us."

"Fine by me." He lifted his arm up and threw the Pikachu into the floor behind him.

It continued rolling and slammed into the wall near the door. Sensing somebody near them, the doors automatically opened up.

May and the nurse gasped, covering their mouths with their hands in the horror of the abuse. Brendan's hand shut tightly. He wanted to solve this problem, but not with a Pokémon battle.

"...But if I win, I get to take your worthless Pokémon and strain its neck until its eyeballs pop out," the bully laughed as he walked outside the Pokémon Center, getting into a battle position.

Dusk was shocked at her recklessness. "Dawn, are you seriously going to risk Piplup's life?"

"Of course not." Dawn walked over and accepted Charmy from May. "But you saw how he treated his Pikachu."

Her cautious friend was still in awe. "Dawn, I want to save it too, but this is something for the cops..."

She began walking near the exit. "No. Well, maybe, but no, that's not where I was going with that. If he treats his Pikachu like that..." She bent down to the injured Pikachu and let Charmy jump out of her hands. The penguin started petting Pikachu softly with his flipper. Pikachu opened its weakened eyes and looked at the Piplup through its tears. Dawn turned back around to Dusk. "If he treats his Pikachu like that, he can't treat his other Pokémon any better. If Pokémon dislike their Trainer, they won't fight hard for them."

Dusk smirked. It seemed as though she had this planned out, so he decided not to argue against her.

"It's a free win. Not only do we save the Pikachu, but I also get the satisfaction of making sure that this guy knows his place." Dawn picked Charmy back up and exited the building.

"D-Dusk...?" May's voice sounded worried. "H-How many battles...has Piplup actually been in?"

Dusk's eyes turned to the clean floor. He sighed deeply. "One."

May was shocked. Brendan sneered. The nurse, however, didn't even hear them. She had taken Pikachu into her arms and ran him down the hallway, vanishing into a side room.

"Alright, as much as I like Dawn, you have to admit, she's a bit overconfident walking into this battle," Brendan said.

Dusk breathed out another sigh. "Let's just hope Dawn is right in her guess about this guy..."

They walked outside to see Dawn standing a few feet in front of the door, with the bully all the way out near the sidewalk, which was a few yards away. Hovering in the air above him was a Geodude. He saw the three walk up and stand on the side of the arena, wanting to spectate, but not get in the way of the battle.

"Oh look, here comes the cheering squad now," the nameless scrub yelled out.

"You know what they say about fat boys in black with orange hair after Labor Day?" Brendan replied. "THEY SUCK."

The boy started throwing a temper tantrum at the insult.

Though the thought crossed his mind, Brendan decided not to stop. "You did bring a change of underwear, right? It sure would be embarrassing to see a princess like you walk around with wet pants after Dawn beats the crap out of you,"

This angered the bully even further.

Dawn finally realized what Brendan was doing. She looked back at him and smiled. He returned it with a steady smirk.

Finally, Brendan gave one last blow. "Hey, I think I know why you have to beat up Pikachu to feel strong! Because when you attack that six year old at the playground for his lunch money, he always wins."

"I can beat up a six year old!" he retorted.

Brendan facepalmed.

"I'll prove it to you by beating up this little girl. Geodude, go break every bone in her body!" the bully demanded.

"It's unfortunate that, to do that, you'd have to catch me, blubber-brain," Dawn spoke, still as confident as ever.

"Oooh, I'm scared now!" the bully said sarcastically.

"Good! It takes a big boy to admit that he's scared," Brendan cut in. "You get a big star sticker when we get home, young man!"

Dusk saw the bully's face turn red from getting so angry. He put his hand on Brendan's shoulder. "Have you ever considered trying out for Yo Momma?"

"Enough arguing! Let's fight! Geodude, Rock Smash!" the bully commanded in his...bullying manner.

The hovering Rock-type Pokémon began rushing for Charmy.

"Ugh...HM moves..." Dawn sighed. "Didn't know anybody was stupid enough to bother with them anymore. Charmy, dodge it!"

Charmy did as he was told. He chuckled while watching Geodude crash into the ground. The opposing Pokémon was slightly dazed.

"Alright, Charmy! Give it a bath with Water Gun!"

Charmy opened its mouth and sprayed a stream of icy water at the Rock-type Pokémon, hurling it into a wall.

"Here's a clue. Keep it in your pocket. Don't use a Pokémon that's so weak to an opposing one!" she yelled. "Idiot..."

Dusk stifled a grin. "_I think only somebody that works for a professor would give lectures to their opponents in a battle_," he decided.

"Geodude, hit that freakin' thing this time!" he demanded.

It didn't attack. It simply hovered back over to its Trainer and floated in the air.

"What are you doing, you worthless thing!?" The bully grabbed Geodude and chucked it into the ground himself.

Though she couldn't stand the abuse, Dawn couldn't help a smile. Between Brendan's taunting and Geodude not listening, she knew this match was a single move away. "Alright, Charmy! Finish this one up with Bubble!"

"Piiiiiplupluplupluplupluplup!!" Multiple bubbles sprang from Charmy's mouth and attacked Geodude, who was still on the ground.

It fainted.

Brendan took a single step backwards. "_Whoa...Dawn kicked that Pokémon while it was down on the ground...This girl's got a sharper edge then I gave her credit for_."

"What is this CRAP!? Get up, you worthless--"

The bully was interrupted when he heard three police officers point their guns at his back.

"Don't touch that Pokémon!" a female policeman, who was in the middle of the three, announced loud and clearly. Her uniform was completely blue, equipped with a shiny badge in the corner of the shirt. Even her hair was blue, though it was a different shade than the uniform. Her high heels clacked against the ground as she drew closer to the man. She never stopped pointing her weapon at him. "You're under arrest for two accounts of Pokémon endangerment and threatening to hurt another Trainer's Pokémon in an illegal manner." The officer, backed up by the other two men, put her gun away and got out handcuffs.

"What!? I never did that!" he lied.

"Nurse Joy of the Oreburgh City Pokémon Center and Healing Institution said that you threatened that girl's Piplup with strangling it, and she saw you hurt a Pikachu on more than one occasion. She also said there were four other witnesses to this. The second endangerment charge I just saw with my own eyes." She smiled and locked in the last cuff.

If he couldn't save himself, the bully was intending to bring Dawn with him. "That's insane! If I'm going to jail for that, then she should go to jail for threatening to steal my Pikachu!"

"Your Pokémon would need new homes anyway. They'll have forgotten about you long before you're getting out of jail." The officer handed the boy over to the other two policemen before walking over to Dawn. "I'm officer Jenny," she introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Dawn..." The girl's voice trailed off.

Charmy jumped into his Trainer's arms and stared at Jenny with his wide eyes.

Jenny took out a notepad from her pocket. "Did that man hurt you?"

"No, ma'am," Dawn shook her head.

"Would you like custody of any of his Pokémon?"

Dawn bowed. "I'd like to take care of Pikachu, ma'am."

"Alright. Nurse Joy said she was taking care of the poor thing when she called us," Jenny explained. "So I'll make sure she knows to hand it over to you. His other Pokémon will be released back into the wild. We can only pray that they find a better home than they did the first time..." Jenny looked back at the criminal who was struggling to stay out of the police car.

"I'm sorry to put you through all of this trouble, ma'am," Dawn bowed again. Admittedly, she was nervous around the officer.

"No one can blame you, Dawn. Just remember that there's still more of his kind out there. If you run into another one, give the nearest police station a call, and we'll handle it," Jenny advised. "Thank you for helping us clean the streets of crime." She walked back to the police car and got inside. The sirens stopped blinking, and the car took off.

Dawn, who was still holding Charmy, let out a sigh. Dusk walked up to her side.

"What's wrong? I expected you to be happier than this."

"I don't know..." Dawn looked at the sky. "I guess I didn't really want him to go to jail. I just wanted to teach him a lesson, that's all."

"What are you talking about? He got exactly what he deserved..." Dusk was confused...as per usual.

"It's nothing. I guess it's just me being an air head, that's all." She stuck her tongue out playfully.

Charmy continued dining on his favorite meal of Dawn's hair.

"Alright, alright! Let's go have some breakfast." She plucked her Pokémon away from eating her hair further and turned around to walk back to the PokéCenter, but stopped when the doors opened from the inside.

At the door was Nurse Joy, holding a smiling Pikachu in her hands. It was so fresh-looking, it was hard to believe it had ever been injured.

"Nurse Joy!" Dusk ran up to her, catching her name from the officer that was there a second ago. "Did you really call the cops on that guy?"

"Somebody had to do something!" she explained. "It's wrong to hurt Pokémon like that, and it's too ironic for me to see them hurt in a Pokémon Center! So, Dawn..." She walked up to the victorious girl. "I believe this cute little guy is yours."

Charmy jumped down to the ground so Nurse Joy could hand Dawn the Electric-type Pokémon. With the thought of having a new friend in his mind, Charmy forgot all about wanting food.

"There is just one thing about this Pikachu, though..." the nurse warned. "It will gladly follow you wherever you go, but since it's already been caught in a Pokéball before...It can't be put in another one. It'll have to follow you around on foot. Is that OK?"

"Yeah, that's fine..." Dawn was smiling wryly. "Wow...Thank you, but..."

The crowd's reaction turned to suspense.

Dawn turned to her best friend. "Dusk..."

"W-What?" he asked nervously.

"I was...kind of hoping you'd take Pikachu."

Brendan put his arm around the beaming May's shoulders. She didn't care who the Pikachu's Trainer was, as long as her Pokémon friend from last night journeyed with them.

"N-No, I couldn't, Dawn! You won that Pikachu yourself, I don't deserve it," he reasoned.

"I want you to accept it as a thank you...for all the help you've given me." She didn't really want to run down the list of times she's cried with everybody standing around them. "You may not think it was much, but I can't tell you how good it feels to know that when I fall, you'll pick me up...and take me to the nearest Pokémon Center," she laughed. "It really would mean alot to me if you took Pikachu..."

Pikachu jumped out of Dawn's arms and landed on Dusk's shoulder. It started climbing up his head, finally making himself comfortable on the top of his beret.

Dusk laughed at the experience. "Well, after that, how can I say no?" He turned to Nurse Joy. "Could we thank you in any way?"

"It's my job to help Pokémon like this one out. I can't accept anything for just doing that," she smiled.

"Then what about for saving Dawn's life?"

Dawn blushed at the mention.

"Well, if you feel that you owe me...What if you named Pikachu 'Wizard'?" Joy suggested.

"Wizard?" Dusk echoed.

She nodded. "I had a baby Pichu when I was young named Wizard, and every time I look into this darling's eyes, it reminds me of him." Pikachu cooed as Joy began petting behind his ear.

"Alright! Wizard it is, then!" Dusk said triumphantly.

"Pika!" the Pokémon exclaimed in agreement with its new name.

Joy smiled at seeing her beloved childhood friend live on in another generation. "Wonderful! I'm glad to hear it."

They all thanked Joy for everything she had done. Knowing they needed to continue their travels, however, they soon got on their way.

"Hey...Brendan? May? Could you give Dawn and me a minute?" Dusk asked.

They looked at each other. "S-Sure. We'll explore around town," May responded. "C'mon, Wizard, let's get to know each other better!" She signaled the Pokémon to jump into her arms.

"Pika pi!" He smiled and leaped from Dusk's beret to May's caring arms. He enjoyed the warmth and snuggled up against May's shirt.

They walked off in one direction, and Dusk led Dawn in the other.

"What's wrong, Dusk? If it's about Pikachu, I already told you that I really want you to have it..." Dawn was hoping that the Pokémon was the only problem.

"No, I understand that. I don't think I've ever thanked you for it, either. I really do appreciate it, Dawn."

Dawn chuckled. "It's somewhat weird thanking somebody for a gift meant to thank somebody, huh?"

"I wanted to explain something to you, because it's probably better than you finding out the hard way..." Dusk didn't start off convincingly.

A sad expression came over the female Trainer's face. "...Is it about that shot earlier?"

"Nurse Joy said that you have some disease that, if you breathe in mountain air...well, that happens. Dawn...was that the first time that's happened?"

Dawn wished her bandana was long enough to pull over her eyes. She couldn't answer him while looking at him.

Accepting her silence as the answer, Dusk continued. "How many other times has it happened!?"

"I don't know...twice, that I can think of..." Dawn pulled herself together, but still couldn't look at Dusk.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked cordially.

She really didn't want to, but the words came to her mouth before she could stop them. "My mother took me, three years old at the time, into the cave north of Jubilife once, soon before she...Er, nevermind. Anyway, it happened there, then when I was seven, I..." She felt her mouth become dry. "I...wandered into that cave...back there..." She was referencing the same cave that the incident had happened in last night.

Dusk stopped walking and pounded his foot on the ground. "I should have never forced you to enter it..."

Dawn lifted her head just high enough to make eye-contact with her friend. "You didn't know I had a medical condition, and you definitely didn't force me...I was the first one to walk into the cave, if you'd remember."

He remembered Dawn's words from last night and calmed down while starting to walk again. "Continue."

Dawn quickly dropped the eye contact and instead looked at the dirt road they were on. "I...don't want to continue. You'd probably blame yourself for that too, and then I'd feel even worse..."

"I'm sorry...if you think I'm putting too much blame on myself. I'll try to hold it back a bit."

"No, I understand...with what you said last night, and all..." She decided to take what he said to heart, and just prayed that he wouldn't blame himself for this. "When I found my way into that cave, I..." She really had trouble finishing her story. Eventually, she gulped and forced herself to blurt it out. "I...wasn't as fortunate as I was this time. I had...nobody to help me."

A sharp chill drove down Dusk's back. "W-What do you mean? Nobody...?"

Dawn shook her head. "I was just laying there, unconscious, for, I don't know...I think the doctor's said two hours, or something," she spoke casually, hoping Dusk wouldn't take it so hard. "Eventually, some passer-bys found me, but...I, um...I...almost didn't make it..."

Dusk's eyes closed tightly. He began to wonder what would have happened if he had never met Dawn. Would he have ever gotten his first Pokémon when he did? Would he have ever personally meant Rowan? If not, then would he have ever left Twinleaf Town? Eventually, the thought became too much for him, and he forced it out of his mind. "I see..."

"I never told you about this, because I didn't want to upset you...When Professor Rowan said he wanted me to go out on this adventure across Sinnoh, I assumed he'd taken my stupid problem into consideration..." Before getting angry, Dawn began breathing deeply to calm herself. "...I guess not."

After a minute of thinking how he wanted to continue the conversation, Dusk let out a few laughs. Dawn turned her head to him to see what he was laughing about. "I don't know if you realize this or not, but you just made that Pikachu alot more special to me."

"Hm?" Dawn was confused how those two were connected.

"When you gave me the Pikachu, I thought it was for the times I gave you a shoulder to cry on. I didn't know it was also meant for saving your life."

Dawn gave him a hug from the back, resting her head on the back of his neck. "I'm glad to hear that." She ended the gesture and started walking on his side again. "So what happened earlier?"

"You mean the shot?"

"The last thing I remember is Joy putting that plastic thing around me, then you taking my hand into yours...Next thing I knew, I was sitting next to an injured Pikachu."

"You blacked out," he explained bluntly. "The nurse said that was pretty normal, though."

"What did it do to me?" Dawn figured she had every right to be curious what was injected into her.

"Here's where it gets confusing," Dusk began. "_If Dawn believes the serum will work, it will. If her faith fails, the Coronosis may come back. In essence, the effectiveness is based on Dawn's mind_," he recalled Joy telling him earlier.

"Ah...I've heard about those medicines."

"You have?" he said, slightly shocked.

"Mm-hm," she nodded. "It's some really weird kind of medicine...Anyway, it's a fairly new idea that helps with some diseases that scientists can't get an actual medicine to, like Coronosis. Obviously, it has its flaws but..."

"...But if you believe in it, it actually works...?" Dusk couldn't believe his friend knew this much about them, considering he's never heard of the idea before.

"That's what they say, anyway," she replied casually, refusing to let her mind wrap around the fact that she'll have to test it when they leave Oreburgh.


	5. A Battle Worth Dying For

"GUYS!!" a voice screamed, running up behind the new Trainers.

They both turned around, though Dawn was the only one that spoke up. "Hey May, what's up? Why isn't Brendan with you?"

After giving herself a minute to catch her breath, May looked up at the Trainers with tears in her eyes. "Brendan...challenged somebody to a Pokémon battle..." She increased her grip on the Pikachu she was holding.

Dusk and Dawn looked at each other, silently studying each other's expressions. "What's wrong with that?" Dawn asked, turning back to May.

"You don't understand...they're at the bottom of a mine!"

The other two still weren't getting it.

"If an attack shakes the field, then..." May couldn't finish. She bowed her head and let the tears fall onto Wizard's head.

Wizard looked up and tried to comfort her by petting her chin, but it didn't work.

After a second of figuring out what she was going to say, both Dawn and Dusk's eyes widened. "THE MINE COULD COME DOWN ON THEM!!"

"Don't worry about it, May!" Dawn started.

"Yeah, we'll get them out of there," Dusk finished. "Do you have enough strength to come with us?"

May was extremely worried. The thought of losing her boyfriend over a stupid thing like a Pokémon battle was just too much for her to handle. "I think so..."

"Great. C'mon, Wizard! We got us a party to crash!" Dusk held out his arm.

Wizard leapt back over to its Trainer and perched himself on the shoulder. "Pika-chu."

Dusk took off ahead of the girls in the direction May was coming at them in before. Dawn waited for May to recover some of her breath before quickly following.

"_Can't we go a single day without somebody breaking into tears!?_"Dawn asked herself. To nobody's surprise, she didn't get an answer. "May, you have to be strong! Trust Brendan!"

"Right!" May nodded, thanking Dawn for the assurance.

Dusk and Wizard reached the entrance to the mine. They stopped and waited for the girls to catch up, which didn't take long.

"It's this here, right?" Dusk pointed at the entrance.

May nodded.

"We got to get down there!" Dusk dashed off into the cave. "_How is it brighter down here than it was in the cave leading to Oreburgh?_" he wondered. "_Wait...cave...cave_...DAWN!" He came to a sudden halt and looked back down the path he came from.

Dawn stood at the entrance of the underground cavern, completely paralyzed in fear. She was just staring widely into the mine, her self-doubt escalating to unhealthy levels.

"Dawn, if you need more time, don't come down here! Sit this one out! May and I can handle it!"

Regaining the ability to move, Dawn took two steps back before suddenly being tripped by a stealthy rock.

"It'll be okay, Dawn! Don't worry about anything!" Dusk grabbed May's hand, who was still panting from running so much, and dashed off with her deeper into the cave.

Dawn laid down on the dirt road. "_My friends save my life, but when they need me, I can't even get within one-hundred feet of them_..." She sighed and turned to the sky above, hoping for some kind of help. She smiled when a blue-colored penguin waddled up to her face and looked down at her.

"Piiiiiiip?"

"Charmy! Sorry for making you run all that way on your own. How about we go get that food I promised you?" Dawn hoped filling his stomach would help him to forgive her.

"Lup lup!" he declared, rubbing his tummy.

Dawn got up and dusted herself off, then picked Charmy into her arms and started walking away from the mine. "_Since I can't help my friends, I suppose I might as well help my Pokémon_..."

-----------------------

Dusk came screeching around a corner with May soon following him. At the bottom of the artificially-lit shaft they had finally found who they were searching for. "Brendan!"

"May, I told you to leave, not get back-up!" Brendan scolded.

On Brendan's side of the field was a Sceptile. It was actually slightly taller then Brendan was, who was the tallest of the group. Sceptile's small eyes and leak in its mouth gave the impression that it was very lax, but was ready to fight when it needed to. On the other Trainer's side of the field was a Machoke. The shadows started getting too strong at the other Trainer's side of the field, so Dusk couldn't tell if it had any distinguishing features or not.

"What gave you the idea that fighting giant monsters in a mine was a good idea?" Dusk asked calmly.

"Get out of here!" the older Trainer quickly commanded.

"Please, Brendan, don't do this..." May begged fearfully.

Brendan walked over to May and put both hands on either of her shoulders. "I told you when I accepted this challenge that I needed to do this."

"But, Brendan...!" May got cut off.

Brendan started walking back to his original position. "Dusk, could you do me a favor? As a buddy? Please take May back to the surface. I guess I can't tell you what to do, but if something does happen, I refuse to let May get hurt."

"NO!" May screamed so loud, the voice echoed through the entire underground mine. "I'm not going anywhere unless you're coming with me..." May fell to her knees and began sobbing. She held her hands up to her eyes as she began crying.

"I return to my original question," Dusk spoke. "Why are you doing this?"

"Just because, got it?"

"Oh, come now, Brendy boy," the other Trainer smoothly cut in. "If your friend wants to hear the story, let 'em hear it." His voice was cool, seemingly not fazed by the chance he could get buried alive under the mine.

"Will somebody explain it to me?" Dusk said, not caring which Trainer told him any more.

"He just called me an idiot, alright? I don't take kind to being called names," Brendan explained.

"Now, now, that may be a factor, but you know that isn't the true reason we're fighting," the Trainer, still clouded in darkness, alerted him of his mistake.

"Brendan?" Dusk asked, curious why he had lied.

"Yeah, tell 'em, Brendan," his opponent egged on, stifling a laugh.

Brendan closed his eyes, forming a fist with his hand. He finally gave in. "He called Dawn a slut. Happy!?"

The other Trainer couldn't contain himself anymore and started laughing. Dusk, however, didn't quite think the situation was so humorous.

A spark kindled inside of Dusk. More like a forest fire, actually. "You...**dare**...to malign Dawn like that?"

Wizard sensed his Trainer's rage. Sparks began flying from his cheeks. "Pika, PiPikachu!" he roared at the opposing person.

"I'll rip your head off and eat it!" Dusk started, running for the battlefield.

"Please, stop!!" May began crying even faster. She was still sitting on the backs of her legs. "No more fighting...That's what caused this entire thing to get started...I just want to leave this place and never come back! Then everyone can be happy!"

Brendan slowly reached for an empty Pokéball on his belt. "Roark..." he began. "Beating the daylights out'a you isn't worth seeing May like this. I'm out of here."

Sceptile spit its leak on the ground.

Dusk observed as Sceptile disappeared in a flash of red light. He began walking back to May and Brendan as well.

Roark began laughing again. "Running away from an enemy, huh? Typical Hoenn Trainer..."

Brendan, who was bent over, trying to cheer May up, froze. After a second, he rose back to his feet and turned his head back to the Trainer who was starting to walk out from the shadows and closer to the trio. "You can make fun of me all you want. Make fun of my friends, and you're pushing it. Make fun of my home country, and I'll drop you where you stand. Do you hear me?"

"Ooh, such tough words," Roark briefly stopped walking towards them. "All I'm saying is that almost every Hoenn Trainer that's fought me has ended up backing down...Some were even winning. How am I supposed to have respect for a country whose people can't finish what they started?"

He was pushing all the right buttons, and he knew it.

Brendan was approximately half a second away from jumping at his opponent, but May's crying only grew louder, stopping him. "Roark, I got one thing to say to you. If I ever see you again, and May _isn't_ around..." he threatened.

All three began walking away.

"And I got one thing to say to your friend. Beret's suck."

Dusk stopped walking. Brendan, who had May's shoulders in her arms, also stopped.

"Don't give him the light of day, Dusk..." Brendan advised.

"He could probably have me hold a 40,000 watt light bulb while standing next to the sun and he still couldn't see me. That rat would be blocking his view."

"...Roark, I have one thing to say to you, too." Dusk turned his head back at him and smiled. "Don't let me catch you when you're wet."

Wizard, knowing full well what Dusk was getting at, also smiled as he discharged sparks from his cheeks again.

They began turning the corner when Roark sighed loudly on purpose. They mutely decided to give him one last chance to talk.

"Alright, we've all had our fun here, but let's not leave it on this note," Roark said.

Brendan, as the other two, didn't turn around. "And?"

"And, I'd like to challenge you to a battle."

"I'm not fighting you down here, Roark," Brendan stated.

May blew out an inaudible breath of relief, though nobody seemed to pay attention to it.

"Of course not. We'll go back up to my Gym, and put a friendly wager on the line. What's a battle without something interesting to fight for, huh?"

"_This guy's a Gym Leader?_" Dusk thought. "_I thought calling him a scumbag would be a compliment_..."

"What's going on the line?" Brendan continued, somewhat interested in his offer, though mostly not.

"Oh, what about this. If I win, you have to break into Jubilife TV's station, while they're recording, and, on national TV, rant about how great I am. But if your team of hunchbacks win, hm..." He thought for a moment. "I'll apologize to each individual person I've mocked today over the loudspeaker on the Gym. How's that sound?"

"You seem quite confident about yourself," Brendan complemented.

"I am," Roark pushed his hair off to the side, though they could still see nothing but his silhouette.

"Then how about we raise the pot a bit? If we win, not only do you have to apologize on the speaker, you have to resign as Oreburgh City Gym Leader."

"Fair enough. This is getting fun." Roark was enjoying this much more than what made the trio feel safe. "But should the minute possibility of me winning come true..." His voice trailed off.

They all knew this wasn't going to end well. Dusk considered walking off right now, but decided to atleast hear the con artist out.

"After you mention that I'm second only to Chuck Norris on TV, all three of you, along with the slut, have to suicidally bomb the entire station!" Roark couldn't even finish the proposition before breaking out in laughter again.

May gasped. She couldn't believe that not only were their lives on the line, they also had to blow up the entire station, killing possibly hundreds of people. The fragile girl couldn't stop the tears from flowing back out. "..._This wasn't how our Sinnoh vacation was supposed to go..._"

"You can't possibly compare losing your job to losing your life!" Brendan explained. "Forget it. Let's just get out of here. I don't care if there's any bad blood or not."

Roark sighed. "Typical, typical Hoenn Trainer..."

Brendan had a decision to make. May clearly didn't want to go through with it. She didn't even want to go through with it before there were even any terms on the match at all. He felt Dusk, however, wanted any chance he could to tear into him.

After a moment of silence, Roark spoke up. "Alright, alright, you guys win. You don't have to kill yourselves. You do, however, still have to blow the Jubilfe TV station up. However, I will have to throw a catch on to this one..."

At that, the three began to walk away. They didn't even want to hear Roark finish.

"I don't want to fight you, Brendan. Now I want the crybaby."

May drew closer to Brendan, admittedly scared. He continued holding her tightly. Dusk was silent as he slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Leave her out of this..." Brendan declared.

"Why? Don't trust your girlfriend's skills? Think she'll lose it for you?"

Brendan was about to lose his temper. He'd had just about enough with Roark at this point. Suddenly, however, Dusk spoke up.

"I have an idea."

"The beret didn't cut the circulation in your head off long enough for you to formulate something like that?" Roark mocked.

Dusk let it roll into one ear and out the other. "Why don't you make it a double battle? May and Brendan against you. They each get one Pokémon, you get two."

"Dusk, no..." May begged him to take it back, but he had no interest in doing so. He wanted to see Roark get taken down, and there wasn't a better way than to see both of his new friends do it.

"Hm...I don't know...That doesn't really benefit me that much..." Roark scratched his chin.

"Well, then, how about if you knock one of their Pokémon out, you win?" Dusk continued.

"But they have to take both of mine out to win...I like that! Good idea for somebody that lets a sewer rat sit on his shoulder. So how about it, Hoenn slime? I'll agree to all the terms your buddy just said, along with the wagers we previously made. Whatduya say?" Roark offered.

Brendan really wanted to refuse. He knew that May didn't want to go through with this. Her heart was too kind to consciously cause a building with upwards of ninety people in it to explode.

A small snap could be heard inside of May's brain. She broke out of the hold Brendan had her in, stepped to his side, and pointed her index finger straight at Roark. The tears on her face had cleared, though there was still water left in her eyes. "We accept!!"

"May!?" Brendan exclaimed out of pure shock.

Dusk smirked, glad he'd finally get the chance to see Roark torn apart.

Roark laughed. "Oww! The shy mouse decides to bite back at the cat without consulting with her fellow rodent, huh? A dramatic curve-ball." He continued laughing while walking past them. "Meet me in the Gym in one hour. Best not be late, or I'll stage a crime for you so well, Carmen Sandiego would be jealous!" The cocky Trainer walked up the stairs and out of the mine.

"...M-May..." Brendan still couldn't believe what his girlfriend had pulled.

"Brendan," May turned around and looked as deep into his eyes as she could for hardly being able to see him in the darkness of the mine. "He's insulted our entire group, including Pikachu! And worst of all, he insulted Hoenn. He needs to pay for that."

Through all the times he had been spent with her, Brendan had never seen May so hostile. He found himself hard-pressed to do anything but blink.

Seeing his empty reaction, May began to feel remorse for her hasty decision. "I'm sorry...I know I should have asked you first, but I was just thinking--"

"No. If you want to take Roark down, then I do too. If we watch each other's back, we won't lose to him." Brendan finally got over the shock and agreed with the rest of the group.

May kissed him on the cheek. "We've been helping each other for the past four years...Why would we stop now?" She kissed him once more on her way past him, beginning to head out of the cave.

Brendan looked over at Dusk. "Do you approve of this?"

Dusk scratched Wizard behind the ear, knowing that he enjoyed it. "I won't be satisfied with that guy until we personally neuter him."

They reached the top of the mine. May had been waiting for the boys.

"Brendan, we should go get ready," May suggested. "We can't afford to make any mistakes. We don't truly know what we're up against, after all."

"Right," he agreed. "Dusk, what are you going to do?"

"I have to find Dawn. I have to get to her before..." Dusk stopped.

"Before what?" May asked.

Dusk didn't answer. He dashed off as fast as his legs would let him. Wizard actually lost his balance and had to jump off of his perch, running behind Dusk himself.

"...What was that about?" Brendan wondered out loud.

"I guess he's going to look for Dawn, but I don't know why he said 'before'..." May answered. "Either way, we don't have time for this right now! Let's head back to the Pokémon Center and make sure our Pokémon are healed, then we have to figure out which ones we want to use..."

Brendan wasn't sure if he should be insulted or turned on that his girlfriend was taking command. "Standing here won't do anything. Let's go!"

They raced for the Pokémon Center, knowing that their time was limited. Less than an hour remained, and they had quite a bit of work to do.

Meanwhile, as Dusk made a turn on the dusty, winding trail that led around all of Oreburgh, he almost ran directly into Dawn.

"Watch it!" Dawn cried out quickly, at first not realizing it was Dusk. "Wait...Dusk? What are you doing here? What happened?"

"Dawn, I'm glad I found you. Brendan and May are going to challenge this nut case to a double battle. We're sort of pressed for time, so I'll explain everything at the Pokémon Center!" he explained so quickly, it took Dawn a second to register everything he said.

"Um, why? What's the emergency?"

"The emergency is that we put a small wager on it."

"Wager!? What did you guys do!?" Dawn fired at him.

"Later!" Dusk yelled. "Let's get back to the PokéCenter. We can talk there."

"But why?"

"Because of this guy finds you--" Dusk was stopped mid-sentence by a hand being put on his shoulder.

"Ah...This must be the ever-so cute Dawn, am I right?" the voice guessed.

Dusk spun around and put his arm in front of Dawn, protecting her incase he tried to do...well, anything. Wizard also seemed to be quite ready to defend.

"Whoa-ho, at ease, soldier. I just thought I'd stop by for a friendly chat," Roark argued. "So what is it, exactly, that 'this guy' is going to do to you two?

Finally out of the dark cave, Dusk got a good look at Roark. He was in a loose-fitting white T-shirt with a red working coat thrown over it. His casual brown slacks slightly matched the rest of his get-up, though Dusk refused to give him a compliment on anything. He had small glasses covering his eyes. Above them was maroon-colored hair, somewhat combed over, but the majority of it was messy. He had a somewhat tall stature, but looked slightly short, compared to most thirty-something men.

"Dusk, who is this guy?" Dawn asked, starting to get a little scared at the way her friends were acting.

"This...is the nut case..." he explained, not afraid to mention the insult in front of its target.

"Oh, you cut my heart out!" Roark announced dramatically.

"_Give me a sharp object, I'd love to_." An awkward smile rose on his face. "_...Or a dull object. I won't be picky._"

"I just wanted to make sure you planned on attending the friendly competition your friends and I have set up. And we can't forget your help too...Dirt, was it?" Roark sounded so innocent.

"Hey, watch it, buddy! You don't know who you're talking to!" Dawn exclaimed.

Roark turned to his side, ready to walk away. "Right now, I'm talking to a couple of worthless punks that are, in about two hours or so, going to be killing a studio's worth of people, whether they like it or not. But I do hope my winning our little bet doesn't affect our relationship, little boy. You're so intelligent. Atleast, that's what I think until I see you babysitting that filthy sewer ball down there." He left for his Gym, not caring what their reaction was. "And the one with yellow fur, too," he shouted back.

Dawn stood stunned. "Killing people...Dusk, what was he talking about?"

"That wasn't exactly the way I was hoping to tell you..." Dusk dropped his arm back to his side, but didn't turn around to make eye contact.

"Dusk...what was he talking about?" she repeated.

Dusk sighed, finally beginning to inform her of the 'miniscule' bets that were on the table.

"...Oh," Dawn said when he was finished.

"Dawn, I'm sorry...You really had to be there. I mean, this guy was insulting everybody we knew, even the entire country of Hoenn. We had to shut him up. Well, he didn't insult you, of course, but..." Dusk lied, really not wanting Dawn to find out that she was actually the reason it started. She appeared to be taking everything else hard as it was.

She didn't reply.

"You're probably mad at me, and I understand that, but--"

Dawn shook her head. "No, I'm not mad at anybody. I trust you, Dusk. I know that you wouldn't have done something like this if there wasn't a reason for it."

He couldn't tell if she was just saying that to be brave or not.

"Just answer me one question, Dusk..." She stepped to his left side, within inches of him, and looked up at the sky. In a gentle voice, she continued. "If I was to be in the building you were going to destroy...Would you still blow it up?"

Dusk didn't move. Wizard looked up at his Trainer to make sure he was still breathing. Dusk didn't know what to say. Where did she get a question like that from? How was he supposed to answer it?

Dawn closed her eyes and smiled at his silence. "Dusk...I want you to have this." She reached around her neck and untied her scarf. When she got it loose, she put it in Dusk's hand, though she never turned around to look at him.

"...W-What's this for?" he stuttered, being a bit stunned by the random gift.

She opened her eyes and returned to watching the sky. "...I don't know what's going to happen today. If it comes to the worst case scenario, I want you to remember me by that scarf. Me? Despite anything I say right now, when in the heat of the moment, there would be no way I could push the button to send the entire building up, especially if you were in it, so I don't want anything in return for it. I'll also give you Charmy's Pokéball, OK? I want you to raise it like it just like I would..." She dug into her purse, pulled out a miniature red and white ball, and placed it on top of her scarf.

"Dawn..." Dusk was awed. He couldn't believe what was running through his friend's mind, and how calmly she had placed it into words.

She turned around and looked at Dusk in the face. She was grinning contently. "Remember, it doesn't go by the name Piplup! I learned that one the hard way," she laughed.

"Dawn...is something wrong?" Dusk still couldn't fathom what she was saying.

Dawn shook her head. "No, why?"

"Do you really think I would kill you?" Dusk asked.

"If you'd be willing to kill a station full of strangers, and possibly cause wildfires to spread through-out the city, causing even more pain, then I don't see how sparing my life should be any different from sparing anybody else's." Dawn explained, the coolness never leaving her voice. "Besides, if it was up to you, and you didn't push the button because of me, then what would that guy do to you? He'd probably kill you himself, which sure doesn't leave me with much..."

Dusk smiled, and made sure his friend saw it. "You're forgetting one thing. Brendan and May aren't going to lose."

Dawn had to admire his confidence in his partners. "Could I ask you one more question?" She didn't wait for him to respond. "Say May, Brendan and I were inside the building, and that guy was holding you a knife point, would you press--"

"Dawn, I want you to listen to me. On the way out of the mine, Brendan and I got talking.

"_Yo, Dusk...could I ask you for a big favor?_"Brendan sounded anxious.

"_What is it?_"Dusk replied.

"_If the worst happens, and May and I lose...I want your help. When we find the chance, I want to rush Roark. I'm expecting a whack-job like him to be...armed, which is why I want your help. If we both rush him at once, he can't take us both. I'll try to keep his attention, and just pray that you don't get hurt. At...the very least, this will give Dawn and May a chance to escape. I know putting your life on the line isn't exactly something you think about when you wake up in the morning, but I could really use your help here. There's no way that I'm going to blow Jubilife's station up. Not when there's people in it, anyway. I'd rather die myself before anything crazy like that happens_."

Dawn blushed. "You actually...would risk your life on something like that?"

"We had no choice. All of us knew we had to put Roark out of town, and making him think we accepted his offer was our only hope."

"No, not that. I mean...You would die, if only it gave May and I a chance to escape...?" Dawn clarified her question, still blushing.

"Of course I would. Dawn, you--"

He was interrupted by Dawn, who fell on him and squeezed her arms around his back.

Dusk was going to ask what that was for, but felt that Dawn didn't want to talk about the subject anymore. They stood, on the corner of the street, hugging each other for what seemed like hours. Neither of them minded it one bit.

--------------------------------

Time was up. Dawn and Dusk began walking beside each other to the Pokémon Gym, the latter equipping the scarf that his dear friend had just given him.

"It looks perfect on you," Dawn complimented, observing the gift flow in the wind.

In a short while, they reached their destination and walked inside. The Gym was extremely basic-looking. Tall roof, windows high near the ceiling, thin, loose dirt covering floor...

"_If you've seen one Gym, you've seen 'em all_..." Dusk told himself.

"Oh, good! Now the party can actually begin," Roark announced, pleased at their arrival.

To the Sinnoh Trainers' surprise, the battle hadn't even started yet. All three opponents participating in the match, however, were all at their battle-ready positions.

Dusk followed Dawn walking over to the sideline. "You guys didn't have to wait for us..." the boy said, despite it being pointless.

"Actually, we did," Brendan explained. "He wouldn't start the battle until you two came in."

"I just thought that, you know, since we were battling under my conditions and everything, I'd let you have your banjo-playing friends with you, that's all," Roark defended. "Geez, a guy tries to be nice..."

"Your conditions!? I don't recall agreeing to any of that!" Brendan yelled, his rage burning up once again.

"Oh, it's nothing much. See," Roark took a metallic remote control out from his pocket. It had two levers on it with a single button between them. "I just thought I'd show all of you the wonderful air that I get to breathe every day. Trust me, it's very refreshing, I can guarantee that ya'll'll love it."

May barred her teeth, keeping her expression a solid frown. Wherever this was going, she didn't want to go with it.

Roark pushed the left lever down with his thumb.

Suddenly, the ground shook for a second. After the tremor fizzled away, the entire building started to descend on an elevator that was normally hidden from view. Roark was taking the entire Gym underground.

Dawn's heart was racing as she looked out the windows. Since the sunlight had disappeared, nothing but the artificial lights illuminated the stadium. They were enough, however, for Dawn to see they were zooming past dirt at an incredible pace. She took two steps back. She wanted to find Dusk, but something was stopping her from turning her head. Finally, she stepped directly in front of who she was looking for. He put his arms around her waist.

"Believe in the medicine, Dawn...Trust yourself!" Dusk reassured. He couldn't say he was surprised that Roark would pull a trick like this.

The Gym hit the bottom floor. The doors to the building electronically swung open, revealing a passage way out of the building. It let in, however, fresh, underground air.

Dawn's eyes narrowed. She wasn't so sure if she could do this...

Roark laughed. "This is so great, isn't it? I love this air. This, my friends, is **my** fresh air!"

May looked over at Dawn. She had begun to breathe heavily, but it wasn't necessarily because of the Coronosis...It was because of the fear that the Coronosis might come back.

Overwhelming panic flushed through Dawn. She turned around in Umbreon's arms and hugged him tightly. Tears shrouded her whispering voice. "I don't want to die...I don't want to die...!" she almost continuously chanted.

Dusk couldn't make a sound. He didn't know what to say. Instead, his head lowered to and landed on Dawn's shoulder. He shut his eyes and rubbed her back softly.

Brendan fumed. "This is a low blow! Take this Gym back up, now!!"

"What? Is something of the matter?" Roark shrugged, pretending like he didn't know anything was happening to the left side of him.

"Dawn--" Brendan paused. If he said the wrong words, Dawn might panic. Though, it might be a little late for that. "...Dawn's just afraid of the dark, alright!?"

"Huh...Sorry, I didn't know. Well, Dawn," Roark looked over at her.

She could feel his cold eyes penetrating her personal space. She jerked her head away from Dusk's chest and glared at him through her waterworks.

"Try to relax. I'll end this one even faster than I was planning on it. That way you don't have to worry about a thing."

Brendan muttered something to himself. "_I can't believe that we not only have a time limit, but we don't know what it is._" He shook his head gently, releasing a little frustration, and getting back into the game."Let's start this battle already."

"Sure thing, whitey, but I just want you to look at one more thing." Roark pointed out the open doors and down the hallway of the cavern.

Brendan turned his head and focused his eyes into the darkness. Naught but a few feet away was a blade of tall, wide grass. "That's where Sceptile shot his leak earlier..."

"Yep. We're standing just a few feet away from our first bout, which is another reason I wanted to bring us down here. This elevator was here the entire time. You had to have looked at it five different times, and you didn't recognize anything?" Roark ran his hand through his hair.

Brendan looked over at Dawn. She was cowering in Dusk's hold again. He didn't know how much time they had left. His eyes fixed back on Roark. "Can we start yet?"

"Sure thing, Hoenn dips. Go!" The Gym Leader shot two Pokéballs through the air with a single hand.

Contained inside one of them was Cranidos, a Rock-type Pokémon. It had the shape of a baby Nothronychus, a type of dinosaur. Its red eyes showed cuteness, which was just what was needed for catching unsuspecting prey. From the other Pokéball was Machamp. It took on a very similar style to the Machoke that Roark had earlier. Its muscles appeared to be larger, however, indicating even more toughness.

"Let's show 'em just how useless Hoenn is, Sceptile!" Brendan launched a Pokéball into the field. The top of the ball sprung open and revealed the same Pokémon he had previously fought Roark with. It somehow had a new leak in its mouth.

Brendan knew that there was no other choice. Sceptile never had the chance to rip into Roark earlier that day, and it wanted revenge. "Scep," it stated quietly, folding its arms.

"Defend our Hoenn pride, Blaziken!" May released her own Pokémon into the fray.

"What?!" Brendan jerked his head toward his partner. "That's not the one you said you'd use!"

Dusk's eyes sprung open to see the rebellion. Dawn gasped and instantly craned her head around to also watch the trainwreck. They couldn't believe May had gone against their team strategy. Roark smirked.

"_First she accepts this battle, now she goes against what they've been planning_..._Will she make up her mind what character role she wants to be?_"Dusk thought to himself.

From the Pokéball came a humanoid and proud Fire- and Fighting-type Pokémon. The beak in the middle of its face paid homage to the actual animal the creature is supposed to represent. It stood proudly next to Brendan's Sceptile. "Blazi, ken!"

May's hands turned to fists as she swept her head toward her partner. "You wanted me to take Squirtle! Lives are at stake in this battle! I love Squirtle, but I couldn't put all the pressure on an unevolved Pokémon like that..."

"So what?" Brendan attacked. "You don't trust your own Pokémon? Is that it?"

"What?! Of course I trust my Pokémon!" May's face started turning red with anger. Her voice changed to completely uncharacteristic rage. "I think your problem is that your Pokémon hate you!"

Sceptile looked back at its Trainer with something like awkward surprise on its face. "That's insane! You know what? Maybe I should do this battle by myself!"

Dusk grunted. If he wasn't still holding Dawn's mid-section in his arms...Well, he wasn't sure what he would have made out of the situation. Dawn, however, was covering her mouth with her hands. She was ready to start crying. She didn't want to see a relationship that had been so strong for all this time end just because of a Pokémon battle. Her mind had completely shifted from the Coronosis.

"I'd storm right out of this building if I didn't feel I should stay here to help Dawn!" May screamed back.

"Please stop it! I don't want you to fight..." Dawn cried. "Not at a terrible time like this..."

"She started it," Brendan maturely pointed out.

"I did not!!"

"Hmph!" They both turned their backs to each other.

Brendan turned his head back to his Pokémon. "We don't need her help. We'll win this by ourselves, Sceptile! Use Leaf Blade on Cranidos!"

May did the same. "Screw that tumbleweed, Blaziken! Use Sky Uppercut on Machamp!"

"It's about time we got this disco party ballin'!" Roark shot the remote control that was still in his hand on the ground.

Wizard, who had politely stayed silent this whole time, watched it bounce harmlessly a few inches away from its sender. "_Pika?_"

"Cranidos, roll out of the way and Slam it! Machamp, catch the uppercut and counter!"

For being a Rock-type, Cranidos was unrealistically fast. It hit the ground and rolled to its right, dodging Sceptile's Leaf Blade, then suddenly sprung up and leapt for Sceptile's throat. It crashed into the Grass-type with its entire body, causing the Forest Pokémon to roll back to its Trainer.

Machamp caught Blaziken's attack in its third arm, starting from the top right. It continued beating on Blaziken with its remaining arms relentlessly. Finally, when Machamp was charging up a Dynamic Punch for the finishing blow, the Blaze Pokémon managed to squirm its way out of Machamp's grip and jump back to its Trainer, completely out of breath.

May became hostile again. "Blaziken's attack would have worked if she wasn't distracted by your stupid Pokémon losing to that walking pebble!"

"What are you talking about? If the sound of Blaziken's jaw cracking from Machamp's punching wasn't echoing throughout this place, Sceptile would have sent Cranidos flying into that wall back there!"

"You're impossible, Brendan Maple!"

"And you're fat!"

May blushed and stepped further back from her partner. "What did you just say?"

"I really hate to interrupt this happy, family moment, but my legs are getting tired," Roark complained. "Cranidos, atta--"

"You **stay out of this**," May glowered at Roark, before returning to glowering at Brendan. She walked forward and poked his chest with her index finger. "You know what? Every time I look at you, my 'Why haven't I died yet?' meter goes up."

Dawn pounded a foot on the ground, though it didn't get her far. "Stop--"

Brendan lifted a hand up, pausing Dawn, even though his eyes didn't leave May's. "No, Dawn. This is good. I'm glad that, after all these years, May finally decides to tell me what's on her mind. So what else are you packing, Judge Dredd?"

"Your jokes are stupid and don't even make sense!" she easily retorted. "Goodness sake, _Judge Dredd_?! What are you even trying to imply with--"

"Enough," Roark shouted while doing a horrible job of not smiling. "I'm the Gym Leader here, and I have the authority to give you two a time out. Do you need to go to separate corners? Or do you need a spanking? Dibs on Brendan if..." He shrugged. "Anyway, Cranidos, finish Sceptile off with Hammer Arm!"

Cranidos leapt high into the air, once again, disproving the theory that it was actually a Rock-type.

"Blaziken! Give Sceptile back-up with Close Combat!" May ordered.

Blaziken leaped up into the sky after Cranidos. The rock-hard Pokémon was caught by surprise, and was quickly hit with every single blow that Blaziken attacked it with. Both landed in the middle of the battlefield. Not a second later, Cranidos hit the ground, unable to continue. The Fire-type's physical strength was just too much for it to handle.

"What are you doing!? Sceptile could have handled that just fine, you know," Brendan gloated.

Fire was burning in May's eyes. "I thought I'd help your Pokémon. That way you wouldn't be as mad at me when I kill you later!"

Dusk and Dawn, still paying attention to the feud, cringed at the threat. Wizard was ever-so patiently watching that small remote control as if it were going to move on its own.

"I think you're forgetting that small rule that you can't hit what you can't catch, fatty!"

"What's wrong, ran out of originality? Brendan, I hate...! I hate...hate..." May grinned. Her grin turned into a smile, which, in turn, became laughter. She walked over to Brendan and fell on her knees, weak from choking so much. "I'm sorry, Brendan," she wiped a tear from her eye that she got from laughing so hard. "I can't do it anymore..."

Brendan also started laughing. So much so that he pounded the ground beneath him with his foot. "It's alright, May...It's--" He couldn't finish that sentence due to laughing so hard.

Their bellows echoed loudly through the building.

"Did I miss something?" Roark sneered, returning his incapacitated Pokémon to its Pokéball.

The Sinnoh Trainers smiled. They had no idea what was going on, but they were glad their friends were finally laughing, instead of fighting.

Brendan managed to slow his laughing so he could get a sentence out of his mouth. He gave his hand to May, who accepted it and lifted herself off of the ground. She was still recovering too much to reply to Roark, so Brendan did it.

"You don't get it, do you? I'm not surprised, since your head is as thick as that Cranidos..."

"May, what's going on?" Dawn asked, an awkward grin on her face.

Being specifically addressed, May only began laughing again.

"I'll tell you what's going on. Roark just got owned!" Brendan replied.

The Oreburgh City Gym Leader muttered something to himself.

"May and I have been planning this entire thing since we split up with Dusk. We thought it'd be fun to see how good Roark was at his own game." Brendan reached his arm around May, who was finally starting to recover again. "So, we worked on our little skit for the past hour. That was your first mistake, Roark. You gave us too much time."

"Just shut up and let's finish this battle!" Roark demanded.

"In due time, buddy. For now, I have to finish my story." Brendan turned his attention back to Dawn. "We wanted you two to meet up with us before the battle so we could tell you about it, but when you never came, we were forced to improvise."

"Which actually worked in our favor," May added, rubbing her eye. "Since you didn't know what we were planning, you reacted exactly like how we needed you to. I'm really sorry we had to use you like that..." she said, though she was filled with too much joy at the moment to feel very much guilt.

Roark adjusted his glasses. The reflection blocked out anybody from seeing his eyes. His evil smile, however, revealed all he was trying to hide. "You two are good, I got to hand it to you. Unfortunately, however, I created this game, and I know how to tweak the rules just enough to give me a slight edge." His smile became maniacal as he reached down to the floor and tapped the button that was on the remote which laid beside him. "You and the rest of the Spice Girls haven't done too shabby so far..." Roark stood back up and smiled at his opponents, specifically, Brendan. "But Daddy's getting sick of looking at all these worthless toys you leave lying around. Time to take out the trash."

At the reaction to the button, the roof of the Gym began to retract to the sides. Likewise, the windows began rolling up.

None of this was adding up right away. It took May a second to realize what Roark was plotting. Her smile quickly dropped. "No! Stop it!"

Roark laughed. "You play a trick like that on me, then expect me to just roll over and die? Bite me, broad."

Dawn gasped. It felt like a lightning bolt hit her, surging through her body. Her eyes closed, and her neck dropped. Had Dusk not been holding onto her, Dawn's legs would have given out and dropped her to the floor, slamming into it hard.

"Dawn!!" Dusk suddenly shouted, feeling the girl lose consciousness.

May shivered as though she had felt the same pain as her friend. Brendan came close and hugged her, hoping to keep her emotions steady for the duration of the match.

Dusk slowly laid Dawn on the floor. As was the case last time, her face was a bright tint of red, with sweat soaking every inch of it. She was taking deeper breaths every time she exhaled.

"Funny. I didn't know being afraid of the dark made somebody react like that," Roark snickered, lifting his glasses to a higher position on his nose.

Dusk fell to his knees beside his partner. "No...Dawn...wake up...I can't carry you all the way through the mine..."

A moment of silence blew through the grounded Gym. Finally, a faint voice could be heard. "Relax...Dusk...I'm still here..."

"Dawn!!" Dusk was overjoyed to see his friend still conscious.

Dawn still couldn't open her eyes. She felt as if the closeness of her friend was the only thing keeping her alive. "Dusk...please...don't stop holding me..."

"I'll never leave your side!" Dusk grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard.

"Well," Roark set his hands on his hips. "doesn't this just make you want to forget about the battle, run behind a rock, and lose your lunch..."

"Shut it, will you!?" Brendan declared. "It's your freakin' fault she's hurt in the first place! The least you could do is give them the chance to say whatever the devil they want to say!"

"'Them'? Are you indicating one person as 'them,' or is somebody else also effected by Coronosis?" Roark asked.

"Er..." Brendan didn't have a response. Dusk and Dawn were so close, it was hard not to confuse them as boyfriend and girlfriend. "Slip of the tongue. The point stands...!"

Neither of the Sinnoh Trainers were paying any attention to them.

"Dusk...I'm sorry...for doubting...myself..." Dawn smiled and opened her eyes the best she could while having such an intense fever. Her eyes were filled with tears that just wouldn't fall down her face. "I guess that's just one more mistake I made, huh?"

"Don't say that! You didn't make a mistake!" Dusk was still stunned by the sudden happenings.

"At the very least, I...I guess I'm living proof that those medicines work...aren't I?" She couldn't contain the energy to keep her eyes open any longer. They lightly locked shut again.

Roark smiled. He had barely heard Dawn's faint voice, but he did hear it. "Oh, you might not be living for so long, Dawn. I hear that if Coronosis doesn't get treated within fifteen minutes, the victim dies..."

Dawn started coughing violently. Roark was inside of her head, doing everything in his power to make herself doubt the medicine. And he didn't have any intentions on stopping.

Brendan gritted his teeth. "Lay off..."

Brendan could feel May get even more shook up. He held her closer.

"You know, I still find this entire thing kinda funny," Roark tried cheering everybody up. "Just a second ago, everybody was laughing at me. Now who's laughing? C'mon, anybody with me?"

Wizard had taken just about enough. He left Dusk's side and ran over to Brendan. He began pawing at his pant leg to get his attention. "Pika pi, PiPikachu!"

May give her boyfriend permission to stop holding her and bend down to the Pikachu.

"What is it, little guy?"

Roark saw the Pikachu lift his hand up and point in his direction with his tiny fingers. "Why is the fluff ball pointing at me?"

Little did Roark know that Wizard wasn't pointing at him. He was pointing at the remote on the ground.

"Pikachu, PiPika pi Pikachu, chu!"

"Gotcha!" Brendan high-fived the Electric-type Pokémon and watched it scamper back to Dawn's side.

"What did it want?" May asked, still shook up over what happened to Dawn.

Brendan turned his head to her. He gave her a sharp look, as if to say "Follow my lead." Brendan once more put his arm around the back of May's neck, comforting her.

Dawn writhed. She felt her stomach get wrung, and turning on her side was the only way to deal with the pain. After the intense pain temporarily disappeared, she fell back to her first position. "Dusk...I..."

"If it hurts too much, don't talk!" Dusk commanded.

"...I don't know if I'm going to..." It felt like every one of Dawn's organs were getting torn apart. Her body immediately reacted by forcing Dawn to sit up, which only caused it to hurt even more. She coughed forcefully once more before she fell back down. Her red face had turned dangerously pale. "I don't think...I'll be making this one..."

"Pika pika..." Wizard sighed, ears drooped low, crushed at the thought. He'd barely had a chance to get to know his savior.

Dusk couldn't let her lose faith now. "Never say anything like that! There's always a chance! Always hope!"

Roark covered his mouth. A moment later, he removed it, genuine surprise on his face. "Hey...No vomit! Alright!"

"If I...don't make it...please take care of...Charmy..." The hoarseness in her voice was only getting worse.

Dusk shook his head, tears now lining his face. "No...If you quit out on me now, I could never look at another Pokémon again, letalone yours. Come on, Dawn, don't you dare freaking give up on me now!" he shouted angrily, giving his lame friend a small shove.

Dawn opened her eyes back up. For the last time or not, she had to see Dusk's face when she said this. "Don't quit your dream...for me." As she was expecting, her eyes snapped back shut. She didn't get to say all she wanted, but she couldn't continue. She had blacked out.

"...DAWN!!" Tears pouring down harder then ever, Dusk buried his head in Dawn's black vest.

"...Dawn, NO!!" May couldn't stand just watching her friend's agony from the sidelines any more. She broke out of Brendan's hold and ran over to Dawn, a long trail of tears marking her path.

"May, what--" Brendan was interrupted.

Roark kicked his foot on the ground. "Oh, well, looks like she forfeits, doesn't she? And it was quite clear that if one of you lost, you both did, so..."

"Not so fast," Brendan proclaimed proudly. Somehow, Dawn's life being an inch away from deterioration didn't affect him like it did they others. He felt like he needed to win this battle. He felt like he needed to continue with Wizard's plan. He felt like he wanted to tear Roark limb from limb. "I don't remember anybody ever saying the Trainer couldn't leave the battle. Only if one Pokémon lost would we both lose. As you can very well see, both Pokémon of ours are more than willing to oblige to tear you down."

"Blaziken..." May had fallen on her knees next to Dawn. Hearing the contestant's conversation, she turned around and looked at her Pokémon, though, when viewed from behind all the tears in her eyes, nothing but a red blob could be seen. "Do whatever Brendan says!" Her attention returned back to Dawn.

"Beautiful. Alright, your stupid little loophole managed to save you this time. I guess I'll just have to do this the hard way," Roark announced, sounding a bit annoyed.

Wizard had taken this moment to slip into the background.

Brendan paid full attention to the Pikachu when nobody else did. "I want to end this battle just as fast as you do, Roark, but I have to ask something. Why?"

"Why what?" was the stern reply.

"Just...why? Why do you want us to blow up the entire city of Jubilife? Why did you take us underground? What do you even have against us!? Two of my friends wouldn't be crying their heart out over another friend who has to worry if she'll ever see tomorrow thanks to you!" Brendan asked.

"I don't need to explain myself to you..."

"Then atleast tell me what you have against Dawn," Brendan begged. His eyes turned to Wizard, who was starting to slowly walk up behind Roark. He quickly shifted his eyes back to the Gym Leader as to not cause any attention to the yellow mouse. Since Brendan admittedly didn't know what Wizard was scheming, the plan was beginning to fall into place right here.

"You want to know what I have against her? Fine. Her father killed my father, and you know what? Now that he's also dead, I need somebody to take my rage out on," Roark explained. He smirked. "I guess you could say that it's time that the daughter paid for the sins of the father."

"_Dawn's father is...dead? Is that why she didn't want to talk about her family?_"Dusk growled. He didn't like the thought of living his life, never being able to be told by Dawn herself what that event back in Sandgem was really about.

"Revenge? That's what this entire ordeal's about?!" Brendan began fuming once more.

"Of course. Isn't that what most battles are about? Of course, then you started getting all defensive of your friends after I found out you knew Dawn, and I started getting annoyed at you. Then when it was agreed that our next bout would be taking place in my dear Gym, I knew this was the absolute perfect opportunity to kill Dawn as thanks for what her father did to me. I had caught wind that she had Coronosis, and knew that the shot was just too lined up. I had to take it. That's why this battle wasn't going anywhere until Dawn walked through that door. I could have cared less if rat-boy over there tagged along or not, but now that I've had the chance to hear him moan and complain, I really wish he woulda just stayed out of this."

"How about this. If you absolutely have to get revenge on somebody, take it out on me! Just hand over the remote to control this thing and I'll let you do whatever you want to me. How's that sound?" Brendan reasoned cooly.

"Hm...Very tempting. Unfortunately, Dawn has to continue wasting away first. I can't risk her actually surviving this. After that, however, I'll be more than happy to accept your offer, should it still be valid. But for now, the only place that remote control is going is--" Roark looked down, and was surprised at what he saw. Or didn't see, rather. "Where'd the remote go?!"

Roark looked over to the right side of the field, the opposite side Dusk, Dawn, and May were on. Standing proudly, Wizard had the metallic controller in his mouth. "PI-KA-CHU!!" he exclaimed proudly, flashing a victory sign.

"Get back here, you little scamp!!" Roark took off after the mouse.

Dusk and May took their saddened eyes off of Dawn and looked up to see what all the yelling was about. They saw Dusk's Pikachu carrying a small device in its mouth, dashing towards Brendan. "Wizard?!" they both exclaimed.

Wizard took a flying leap and landed on Brendan's left shoulder. When Brendan lifted up his hand, the excited Pikachu dropped the device into it.

Roark, knowing there was no way he could wrestle it from Brendan, came to a screeching halt.

"Yeah! Now that's some Pika power for you!" Brendan declared. "Now, if you don't mind, Sir Gym Leader, I think there might be some more guests waiting up a floor, and it'd be unfortunate to keep them waiting much longer." He proudly flipped the switch.

As was the case before, the ground shook for a moment. It suddenly began rising; as a safety feature, the doors shut, the windows rolled back down, and the roof once more towered over the building.

"Fine. If you won't let her own disease kill her, I guess I'll have to." Roark reached in his pocket and pulled out a gun, quickly taking aim at Dawn. He pulled the trigger, causing a loud pinging noise to echo multiple times throughout the building. Both May and Dusk quickly jerked their heads back up again.

Not half a second later, a loud crash boomed around the place as dirt that was on the ground began flying through the air. Nobody could tell what happened. Everything had been blinded by the dust storm.

"What?!" Roark screamed.

Brendan smiled.

Moments passed and the dust settled back to the earth. When everybody's vision had returned, Blaziken was standing in the direction of which the bullet had been fired in. When all eyes were on it, it lifted its foot up and walked back to Sceptile. In the ground, directly under its footprint, a bullet was lodged.

May's eyes were filled with tears, but this time, of happiness. "Blaziken! You stopped the gunshot!"

"_Wow...that thing's good_," Dusk thought, temporarily forgetting about Dawn.

They reached the very top, and the Gym returned to where it was originally seated on the ground. Though obviously pointless now, the doors, windows, and roof all automatically opened back up.

"Friggin' Pokémon!" Roark aimed his gun back at Dawn, but never had the chance to pull the trigger again.

"Drop the weapon! Now!"

Everybody looked outside at the command.

Officer Jenny was standing in the open doorway, her gun pulled, aimed, and loaded. "I said drop the weapon!" she repeated.

Roark admitted his defeat with an ironic smile. The gun fell out of his hand, bouncing on the Pokémon battlefield a few times before aiming in the direction of the corner of the Gym.

Dusk snapped back to his senses. "What are we doing?! C'mon May, let's get Dawn back to the, er...Pokémon Center."

"Oh, right!" May turned her attention back to Dawn.

The girl put one of Dawn's arms over her back, while Dusk did the same with the other arm. Together, they carried Dawn closer to the door, her feet slightly dragging on the ground.

"Hold on," Jenny stopped them. "Are you the same people from this morning? In front of the Pokémon Center?"

"_Nope, just an identity crises..._" Dusk answered to himself.

"Yes, Officer Jenny," May nodded. As much as she would like to talk to the authority, she really wanted to get by her and get Dawn help.

"You guys are just magnets to trouble, aren't you? What's wrong with Dawn?" Jenny lowered her gun. She knew she could count on Brendan to keep an eye on Roark, as he had been doing that since she arrived.

"Dawn has Coronosis," Dusk explained, though his voice was barely audible. He hated talking about things like this. "When Roark brought the Gym down--"

Dusk was interrupted when he felt a slight pinch in the back of his neck. The pinch turned into a squeeze. Eventually, Dusk looked over at Dawn. She was starting to move!

"Dawn!! Are you OK!?" Dusk dropped Dawn's arm back to her side and ran in front of her, trying to see her face.

May wasn't quite ready for the shift in weight and almost lost her hold of Dawn, but she quickly recovered and saved her from falling over. May walked over to Dawn's back to get a better hold on her shoulders.

Dawn's eyes slowly opened. "D-Dusk? What..."

Finally, her other symptoms started disappearing. Her face slowly returned to normal color, and her breathing slowed.

"Is anybody else aware that an official Pokémon battle is still going on here?" Roark asked. His enthusiasm dropped when he felt a metal band across his wrist.

"This Pokémon battle will be the last thing on your mind in the station. By the power invested in me as an Oreburgh City police officer, I deem this match as a victor for anybody that wasn't on this freak's team!!" Jenny announced, slapping the last handcuff on. "Now get out to the car," she shoved him, almost causing him to tumble over.

Dawn finally got control of her neck and legs back. She looked at Dusk, then turned her head and looked at May, who was still behind her. "What's...up, guys?"

"MOVE IT!!" The trio was temporarily interrupted by Jenny continuing to shove a reluctant Roark out the door.

"Dawn...don't you remember anything?" came from May's gentle voice behind her.

Dawn shook her head. "The last thing I remember is the ceiling retracting into the walls...then I must have blacked out..."

Dusk knew that she hadn't fainted directly after that happened. He was talking to her after that happened! Nonetheless, he decided not to push the issue at the moment.

Dawn's head sank. "All I did was cause even more worry and panic, didn't I?" She didn't need an answer. She just sighed.

"I don't mean to break up whatever we're talking about over here," Brendan said, entering the conversation. "But I don't think the true hero of this story has gotten enough mention." He lifted up his shoulder to highlight the beaming Pikachu that was on it.

Dawn still didn't understand anything. "Wizard...hero?"

"If it wasn't for him, you--"

May covered Brendan's mouth to stop him from finishing that sentence. "Let's just say Wizard really helped out today!"

"Pika..." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"C'mon, let's get out of this dump!" Dusk commanded.

May and Brendan turned around to recall their Pokémon.

"Oh...so what should we do about Machamp?" May asked, having completely forgotten about it.

"Let's just leave it be. I'm sure Jenny will come back for it," Brendan answered. "...Yeah, probably."

Wizard leapt high into the air and landed on Dusk's beret. "Pika, Pikachu!!"


	6. Bitter Revenge

Evening of that day came. They decided to rest at the Pokémon Center until May's and Brendan's Pokémon had been healed. At 19:00, Nurse Joy handed both of them back their Pokéballs, and the entire team departed. They agreed that they could reach Jubilife by nightfall, and set a course for it. May and Brendan walked a ways ahead of Dusk and Dawn.

Dusk had noticed Dawn hadn't made eye contact with him since they left the Gym. In fact, she had hardly let him see her face at all. "Dawn, I know that I probably ask this too much, but is something wrong?"

Dawn shook her head, causing the tip of her bandana to wave in the stilled air of Oreburgh City.

"Would holding Wizard make you feel any better?"

"Pika?" Not paying attention to the conversation, Wizard perked up at the sound of its name.

Dawn remained silent. Her eyes were still fixed on the road beneath her feet.

"Something's up..." Dusk sighed. "...But if you don't want to talk about it, I suppose I can't force you." He really didn't want to give in so easily, but knew that pushing her wasn't the way to help.

Dawn suddenly stopped walking. "_Should I...Er_..."

Dusk stopped too, which caused a chain reaction to the other two Trainers. "Dawn?"

After a second, Dawn resumed walking, still not so much as looking at her teammates.

Dusk wanted to grab the beret off his head and rip it in two. He grunted and continued walking.

Dawn had walked ahead, and now trailed only slightly behind the Hoenn Trainers. Dusk had taken the rear.

"_Now what's her problem?_" the young boy sighed. "_I have a blast hanging out with Dawn and everything, but she could give the dramatics a rest every once in awhile...Geez, she kind of reminds me of Larry, that weird guy that fixes tires at--_"

As if from thin air itself, a gloved hand crashed into the back of Dusk's neck. He barely got a chance to scream before everything went black. The road welcomed him as he faceplanted onto it, completely unconscious.

The other three turned around when they heard the thump.

They were soon interrupted by a man dashing off in the direction of the Jubilife - Oreburgh cave.

Brendan quickly analyzed the situation, put the two together, and bolted off after the unidentifiable man. "Hey, buddy, get back here!"

"Brendan!" May was torn between what to do, but she hastily decided to chase after her close companion.

Dawn ran back up to Dusk, sliding on her knees to reach him. She put her smooth hand into his.

As if her hand had the healing powers of Jirachi itself, Dusk began to get back up. "Ugh...Alright, somebody better have gotten the license plate number..." He rubbed the back of his neck in an attempt to lift the sudden migraine he had recently received. Eventually recovering enough strength, he looked at Wizard, who was standing in front of him, looking at Dawn. He looked up at Dawn's face to see those tears that pained him so much falling down to her skirt.

"This is my fault..." Dawn said in a loud whisper. Crying didn't allow her voice to have any more sound to it. "_Everything's my fault_..."

Dusk jumped to his feet energetically, leaving one of his hands near the ground to help pick Dawn up. "Dawn, you know I want to help you, but that bus just nabbed Chimchar's Pokéball, and we have to chase him!"

"Pika?!" Though he had never seen Chimchar himself, Wizard quickly understood that it was one of Dusk's friends.

Returning to her silence, Dawn closed her eyes tightly, vanquishing the remaining tears. She opened them back up and grabbed hold of Dusk's hand, who pulled her up.

"Here, you're going to need this," Dusk handed his friend Piplup's Pokéball. He barely remembered he even had it. "I'll give you the scarf later. Come on!"

Dusk bolted off after his attacker, Wizard dashing along at his feet. Dawn nodded to nobody in particular and caught up to Dusk.

Dawn and Dusk were running side by side in the cave. "_Amazing_," Dusk thought. "_Her mind's so preoccupied with helping me, this cave isn't bothering her at all...That, or she's just not paying attention_." He let out a flustered sigh at the thought.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, they stopped and peered ahead. Through squinting, they saw the shadows of Brendan and May disappear into Jubilife City.

"They got a ways ahead, but we can't stop now!" Dusk stated.

He looked over at Dawn, who didn't react to a word he just said. Worse yet, the disappearing sun was in the correct position to block her eyes from view. Her short bangs hovered briefly in the air until the wind that picked them up had died down. She remained adamant in her decision to not say anything.

As hard as he tried, Dusk couldn't put it out of his mind any longer. "Dawn, I can't stand to see you like this...Are you mad at me?.."

She took three steps forward, her boots rustling in the heel-high grass. "I'm not mad at anybody," she said in a less cheerful voice than usual. "I just...want to talk to you about something, but can't seem to find you alone..."

"We're alone now," Dusk reminded her.

She shook her head. "No. Your mind must still be dazed from the attack, then there's your Pokémon getting stolen and all...It's just not the right time..."

Dusk was caught off-guard. Whatever it was she wanted to talk about, it's safe to assume she doesn't find it very humorous. "R-Right. So what do we do now?"

Dawn lifted her arm up six inches away from her face and turned her wrist counterclockwise. Her Pokétch read 19:20. "There's still time left to catch up to May."

"Just May? Didn't I see Brendan running ahead of her?" Dusk asked, having been absent when the chase first began.

"Er, right. Sorry."

Dusk forgot about it and blasted off like a rocket down Route 203. His intentions were to reach Jubilife before the heavenly sun was fully set behind the trees. "_Monkey...I've barely seen your face...This isn't what was supposed to happen to my first Pokémon..._"

"Pi Pikachu, pika pi..." Though he had a hard time physically showing it, Wizard was worried about the entire situation...Chimchar, Dawn, and most importantly, how his short legs were supposed to keep up with Dusk while he was running that fast.

"W-Wizard...?" Dawn began nervously.

"Pika?"

She blushed. She really wasn't sure if she should do this or not, but she knew Wizard was tired, and if he jumped on her head, he might lose his balance. And since he couldn't be put inside of a Pokéball...

"Here..." She unzipped the top of her vest.

"Pika pika!!" he exclaimed.

"Not as awkward as it is for me, Wizard..." A nervous sweat trickled down her chin.

"Pika chu..." Wizard sighed.

Minutes later, Dawn was just a short distance away from Dusk. Using all the strength she could humanly gather, she had miraculously caught up.

Wizard's head was poking out of the top of her vest. "Pika Pika!!" he yelled upon seeing his Trainer.

Dawn managed to use a slope effectively and gain a boost from it.

Dusk turned his head. Dawn was running right next to him!

"I always was faster than you, wasn't I?" Dawn boasted, though she was panting heavily.

"Keep your eyes on the finish line, Dawn!" Dusk pointed ahead.

About a mile up the road was the east gate. They were finally nearing Jubilife City.

"Finally. I didn't think we'd ever--WAHH!!" Dawn's foot got trapped underneath a large tree branch that was laying on the ground.

"Dawn!" Dusk paused his running, though the low traction on his shoes sent him skidding a bit further. He quickly changed his direction and ran back.

Falling, Dawn turned her body the best she could and crashed into the ground with her right arm taking most of the recoil. It was dumb luck that her Pokétch was attached to her left wrist, or it probably would have shattered.

Wizard popped out of her vest and rolled on the ground twice, unharmed. He sat up and shook his head, recovering from the abrupt shock.

"Dawn! What ha--"

"Don't worry about me! Go find May and Brendan!" Dawn interjected.

Dusk gulped. Dawn landed hard...would she really be alright? He really did want to track down the guy that hit him... "...Wizard! Let's go!" He turned around again and ran into Jubilife City for the second time.

Wizard looked at Dawn. "Pi Pikachu...?"

She hadn't moved from the spot she fell in. Her leg was still trapped under the limb. "Please follow your Trainer, Wizard! I'll be fine!"

"Chu..." With a worried expression on his face, Wizard dashed off to follow Dusk.

"_And since when do you actually listen to me, Umbreon?_.." Dawn smiled, then pulled her leg out from underneath the tree limb and rested on the ground. "Ouch..."

In the meantime, Dusk looked up and down the darkened streets of Jubilife. The Town actually looked somewhat beautiful, what with all the lights inside the multiple buildings scattered around the place, and it most definitely wasn't as crowded as it was on his last visit. Nevertheless, that wasn't what he was here for.

Wizard caught up to Dusk. "Pi Pikachu, Pi pi!"

Dusk had a bit of catching up to do when it came to understanding the Pikachu language, so he played it by ear. "I'm worried about her too, buddy, but I also trust her. She's been through so much today, I doubt anything like this can stop her. For now, we need to find our other friends!"

Wizard's tall ears perked up. He began listening to the gentle night, trying to hear any familiar sounds his ears could pick up. A moment of concentration later, he heard something. "Pikachu!" He dashed off towards the northern gate.

"Wizard! Wait up!"

--------------------

"Hey, May...ever see one of those movies where the valiant hero jumps in and saves the princess at the last moment?" Brendan asked, his eyes scanning his surroundings mercilessly.

"What about it?" she replied, also observing the area.

"Yeah...We need one of those right about now."

Four men, all of them bearing a striking resemblance to the guy that started the mad chase to begin with, were on each of the compass directions, leaving May and Brendan trapped in the middle. The two heroes had summoned their faithful Pokémon servants, but they were weakened by the opposition's sheer amount of Pokémon. Both Blaziken and Sceptile had to have been recalled.

"Any bright ideas?" Brendan wondered, half sarcastically, half dead serious.

"I don't want you to go through this, but you're our only hope...Go, Squirtle!" May launched a Pokéball at her feet.

Out of it stretched a blue turtle with an orange shell. "Squirtle, Squirtle squirt!"

"That Squirtle kicks butt in Contests, but I don't know how much it can help here..." Brendan threw in a vote of confidence for the team.

"Squirtle..." Getting stared down by the surrounding thugs didn't exactly boost the Water-type Pokémon's courage any.

"Squirtle," May bent down to talk to her Pokémon. "I know this seems scary, but you have to pull through for me, okay?"

"Squirtle squirt!" the Pokémon confirmed.

"Great! Now use Water Gun on that Pokémon!" May stood back up and commanded.

A stream of water was launched from Squirtle's mouth at a random, considerably unimportant Pokémon, which was sent flying into its Trainer, who was taken back and slammed into a building.

Two more foes came from seemingly nowhere.

"Ugh...I don't believe this! We get rid of one and two more fill his place!" Brendan raged.

A confident voice spoke up from a few feet away. "Let's see if I can help tip the scales any."

May and Brendan turned to the south direction. Standing in a streetlight was Dusk, with one hand holding the brim of his beret. A wide grin covered his face. At his feet was Wizard. So much electricity was stored in his body that his cheeks began discharging them involuntarily.

May gripped her hands together. "Dusk!"

"Perfect timing as always, buddy. Mind giving us a hand here?" Brendan asked.

"Wizard! Remind these goons why you don't piss me off!" Dusk ordered, smiling disturbingly at the enemies.

"Pi, ka...CHUUU!!" The harmless sparks turned into a massive lightning bolt as Wizard launched a powerful attack on the nearest foe, electrocuting him.

Having nobody left to defend the south exit, Brendan and May, with Squirtle soon behind, dashed over to Dusk.

"Yeah, now we're cookin' with butter!" Brendan announced.

May looked side to side. "Dusk...where's Dawn?"

"She took a flip back on Route 203, but she told me to come find you guys first. After tearing my Pokéball back out of these fools' dirty claws, I'm going to go back and find her," Dusk explained.

"Wait, what? What do you mean? Your Pokéball...?" May continued, more confused than she was at her first question.

"Later." Dusk's attention returned to the group of foes. "Wizard, Volt Tackle!"

Both Hoenn Trainers flinched. "That random Pikachu that we pulled off the street knows a massive attack like Volt Tackle?!" Brendan realized.

"PikapikapikapikapikapikapiKA..." Wizard began picking up massive speed. Eventually, his entire body started glowing white. "PI-KA!!" He charged at an enemy and enveloped himself in a ball of electricity, leapt for the man's stomach, and tore into him.

The no-name thug was sent blasting off toward the western gate. He disappeared into the night.

"That...might leave a small scar," Brendan pointed out.

"They started it..." Dusk mumbled just loud enough for the other two to hear.

Somehow one of their opponents managed to sneak by undetected. He quickly ran up and put his arms around Dusk's neck.

"Ah, no you don't!" Brendan noticed this and rammed into him with his shoulder, causing the pseudo-killer to drop Dusk and roll away.

Dusk put his arm up to his neck until his breathing returned to normal.

"Sorry about that one. Can't believe he got by us," Brendan apologized. "I'm generally pretty good with my surroundings. There was this one time in Metal Gear where--"

Wizard trudged back up to his Trainer and fell down before him. "Pikaaa..."

"No...Volt Tackle must've drained all of Wizard's strength..." Dusk picked his Pokémon up into his arms. His eyes shifted back up to the nearing thugs.

"Well, I don't know about any of you, but I'd say we have one last hope..." Brendan sighed.

"What?" May finally spoke up again.

From the sidelines came another loud command. "Charmy, Bubblebeam!"

"...That," Brendan replied.

Ferocious bubbles were launched at the ever-increasing group. Finally, they couldn't take any more, and began retreating through the north gate.

"Let's get out of here...We'll have to deal with them some other time," one of them said.

"Don't even think about it!!" Dusk jumped over an unconscious foe and dashed off after them. Wizard, still in his arms, had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

"Dusk! Wait!!" Dawn, with Charmy keeping up at her feet, ran past May and Brendan to follow her partner.

"Dawn, don't! Get back here!" May screamed.

Dawn turned around and started running backwards. "Meet us in Eterna City!" She did another 180-degree turn and continued following Dusk.

May began chasing after them too, but Brendan put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"Up ahead is Eterna Forest. At 8:30 at night, I've heard that place is impossible to navigate. We can't do anything but pray until morning...And we better pray our prayers get heard, because otherwise, they're screwed. For now, let's get back to the Pokémon Center."

"Brendan..." May began curiously. She lifted her index finger to her chin, hoping it would help her concentrate. "What was that thing on Dawn's arm?"


	7. Trials of the Forest

The moonlight guided Dawn to Dusk, who had stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong, Dusk?" she asked, catching up to him.

"By any chance, Dawn...is that the cave you mentioned back in Oreburgh?" Dusk pointed into a dark cavern.

Dawn gulped. "That's...That's it..."

"I lost 'em going through here..." Dusk turned to his comrade, who was kept from the moonlight by a tree's shadow. "I don't want you to follow me."

"What?! Why?"

"Through this cave is Eterna Forest," he explained. "I've heard that it's brutal in there at night. You've been through so much today as it is, I don't need anything else on my conscience."

"Well tell that conscience of yours to shut up, because I'm not leaving you!" Dawn practically shouted.

Dusk blinked from the stun of being yelled at. Finally, he chuckled. "Alright, you win...but Dawn, if anything happens to you in there..."

"Didn't you hear me?" Dawn spoke much more softly than her previous statement. "I'm not leaving you...That means that you'll protect me. Right?"

Dusk's face flushed red. He scratched his cheek, grateful that it was nighttime. "...With my life."

Dawn smiled and nodded. "Here Charmy, you return for right now." She pulled a Pokéball out of her traveling bag and shot a beam at her Pokémon, causing it to disappear back into its home.

"C'mon, let's go hunt us down a couple of dogs, and get Monkey back!" Dusk took off into the dark cave.

"Right!" Dawn followed.

Inside the cave, Dawn tripped and landed on the dirty floor. Dusk quickly ran over to her side, only to be embarrassed that she didn't fall because of the Coronosis. Rather, her foot hit a rock and she couldn't regain her balance before tripping over. Dawn had stood up and stuck her tongue out a him, teasing him for worrying about nothing. "_I think I need to relax a bit_..." Dusk told himself.

They navigated out of the cavern and found themselves staring at what they were expecting to...Brush. Lots and lots of brush. A sea of trees covered the sky from sight, and where there weren't trees, bushes were scattered on the ground. They were grateful that, while narrow, there was a path they could follow. They began their trek across the forest, understanding that the odds of getting lost, even with the path on the ground beneath them, were high.

"Wow, this place is...kinda scary..." Dawn shivered, unknowingly walking closer to Dusk

"Especially when you consider there might be those goons from before anywhere in here," Dusk added.

A chill surged up and down Dawn's spine. "Well, thanks alot! Now how am I supposed to get to sleep?!"

Hours passed, yet they were still treading around without any set goal. Feeling guilty for scaring her, Dusk made sure he and Dawn were always talking about something, in order to keep her mind busy. One subject, however, settled deep with both of them.

"Um...Dusk? I know you want to rescue Monkey and everything, but...What are we going to do about food?" Dawn tried to block out the sound of her stomach growling, which was demanding dinner.

Wizard, who had woken up recently, slapped himself in the face. He couldn't believe neither of them thought that far ahead. "Pika chu..."

"Uhh..." Dusk's mind froze. He began rubbing the back of his neck, quite embarrassed that his willingness to save his Pokémon got in the way of a detail like that. "Well, we could always try eating berries! Pokémon seem to like th--OW!!"

Dusk's suggestion was quickly put out of commission when he got Dawn's handbag swung into his face.

More time passed. Silence's seeds sprouted as Dawn was resting her head on Dusk's shoulder. Granted, it wasn't very comfortable, but she was getting tired of all the walking they were doing. Actually, she was just getting tired, period.

Dusk looked up from the amazingly confusing trail. They had somehow reached a clearing in the woods. For the first time all night, they were allowed to peer at the star-filled nighttime sky. On their right-hand side was a small lake, which reflected the moon's light back at it. "Let's stay here for the night."

Dawn picked her head up and off of Dusk's shoulder and rubbed her eyes, forcing herself to stay awake. "No, Dusk, we don't have to quit searching just because of me. I'm fine..." The latter part of her sentence ended with a yawn.

Dusk lifted his hand up and looked at the Pokétch, activating its backlight. 23:47, so it read. "Nah, we really need to get some sleep, or tomorrow's only going to be worse than today...Could you believe something like that happening?"

They walked into the clearing, only for Dawn to come up with another wrench in their plans.

"How are we supposed to sleep?"

"Here..." Dusk unequipped his backpack and unzipped the top half. Inside was the smooth, ever-so comfortable blanket that he had given to her the other night. He pulled it out and threw it across the ground, expanding it as wide as it would go. "You can sleep on that."

"But what about...you?" Dawn asked, worried that he had addressed her specifically.

"I'll just sleep on the grass. I'll use my backpack as a pillow, so I don't think it should--"

Dusk was interrupted as soon as his partner realized what he was saying. "Oh no you don't! You aren't always going to play the hero of this story, Umbreon!"

That cringe he received from being called his full name came back.

A few minutes later, both were soon comfortable on opposite sides of the blanket. Dusk was laying down, but Dawn was just sitting on it, observing the awe-inspiring deep black sky that laid inactive above them. Wizard was at their feet, inbetween them, sleeping contently. He was covered up with Dawn's bandana, with Dusk's beret on top of that.

"Why do you always do that?" Dusk asked, not being able to get to sleep with Dawn towering over him.

"Do what?"

"Look at the sky like that! I've seen you do it every time we quit moving," he explained.

"I enjoy seeing what I can find up there!" she replied cheerfully. "Like those stars...don't'cha think they look like a Pokéball?" She pointed at a bundle of stars, though Dusk couldn't accurately make out which ones she was talking about. She brought her arm back down and giggled.

"Dawn..." Dusk also sprung up to the same position Dawn was in, setting an arm behind him for balance.

"Every time you start a conversation like that, it always ends up sucking somehow," Dawn sighed.

"Nevermind," Dusk's eyes turned to Wizard. "it's not that important."

"Dusk...I'm your friend. You can talk to me about anything but cats, remember?"

The Trainer laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right, aren't you?" he asked rhetorically. His aura quickly turned serious. "Back at the east gate...I mean, before we even met up with Brendan and May again..."

"Yesterday morning?" Dawn clarified.

"Yeah...You said something into my shirt, but I couldn't hear it. What was it?"

Dawn fell down on her back and turned her head away from Dusk. "Er..."

"...I know, I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry," Dusk said sincerely.

Dawn reached over and grabbed a patch of grass in her hands, gripping it tightly. She wasn't sure what made her do that. "...I asked...you...not to leave me..." She clearly had a hard time getting the words out of her mouth.

Dusk blinked. "Leave...?"

"In...well, you know, a few months from now, we'll have to return to Sandgem before the Professor leaves, and..."

"Dawn," Dusk interrupted. "I'm just a town over. We're going to stay friends."

"I know, but I..." Dawn stopped. She had no idea how to continue without the consequence of crying herself to sleep tonight. She released the grass and started circling a small area of the lawn with her index finger instead. "I just don't want to be lonely, that's all..."

"Lonely? Sure, Rowan'll be gone, but doesn't your family live in Sandgem too? Can't you stay with them?"

Dawn's finger stopped running around in circles and her hand dropped. She may have possibly stopped breathing for a second or two. "...N-N..." was all she could actually get out, and even that was difficult to hear.

Dusk combined the tension with her silence and figured out where this was headed. He gravely regretted ever bringing the conversation up. He was beginning to gravely regret coming into this forest at all. Just when Dawn needed them the most, Dusk couldn't get any words to leave his mouth, no matter how hard he tried.

Dawn sniffled.

"...So, what do you think May and Brendan are doing right now?"

Dawn shook her head. "No, Dusk...You deserve...to know. It's my fault for hiding it this entire time..." Her voice was stuffy, which was to be expected.

"Dawn, please don't...I don't want to see you cry anymore."

"That's why I have my back turned, Dusk..." Dawn replied cleverly. She reached into her bag and pulled out a tissue, probably the same one she had used back in Rowan's lab. After calming herself, she rolled around to her back and watched the sky some more. "So what do you want to know?" she continued, surprising herself how excitedly that came out.

Dusk was trapped. On one hand, he didn't want her to continue. If she told the story of her past, it's possible that neither of them would get a minute of sleep that night, which they couldn't afford. On the flip side, he was dying to know what was on her mind, and he could possibly even help get rid of some of her regret. "...Start from the top," he slowly muttered out.

Dawn closed her eyes as an insurance policy. She didn't want to cry, but if she did, she didn't want Dusk to see her. "My mother's dead, my sister was killed, and I've never seen my father in my life."

Dusk blinked. He couldn't believe she recounted the past fourteen years of her life in a single sentence. "Um..." escaped from his mouth. He would have done anything in the world to take that back.

The female Trainer, eyes still closed, smiled. "Sorry...I guess that doesn't help much, does it?"

Once more, Dusk felt like he was in the same position he was thirty seconds ago, since he virtually was. He didn't want her to continue for the same reasons, but he may never get a chance to hear her full story again for quite some time. He laid back down on the blanket.

Dawn was confident she could finish her story without those blasted tears rearing their heads once more. "I've always been told that my father ran away before I was born. I've never seen a picture of him, nor do I know his name...It's kind of odd, but I guess it just hurts too much to think about it, which is why I never questioned it..."

"_I might have a clue what happened to him_..." Dusk thought to himself, thinking back to what Roark had said.

"Then, when I was eleven, my mother became deathly sick...The doctor didn't think she was going to make it through the week, but through the power of miracles alone, she survived an entire year before...she left me alone, to take care of my sister. Let's see, I was twelve, so my sister must have only been five..." She sighed. "...Miss those days..."

Dusk looked over at her to make sure she was okay. Surprisingly enough, she didn't show a single sign of breaking down.

"I don't know how we survived...I mean, we were just kids. We didn't have the money to pay for things like electric and insurance. Nevertheless, we got through...On my sister's seventh birthday, I promised her that we'd travel to Jubilife for a vacation, celebrating...Well, life, I guess. It was there, that..." Dawn cringed, but calmed herself down and continued. "It was there, that...When walking out of a shop, my sister got hit by a drunk driver, and...she died, at the scene...I don't know what happened to the driver...I mean, I was a little preoccupied with my sister at the time," Dawn laughed, hoping to kill the drama. "I mean, don't get me wrong...I'm hoping he made out alright and all that, but..."

Dusk took a moment to let everything sink in. Suddenly, he sprang up, causing Dawn to open her eyes and look at him. "Wait...You're fourteen now, right?"

Dawn nodded.

Umbreon did some math in his head. "Dawn...how long ago did that happen?"

The person in question closed her eyes and bit her lip. As hard as she tried, tears seeped through her shut eyelids. Realizing she failed at her mission of not crying, Dawn smiled. "Two months and thirteen days, tomorrow," she replied.

Dusk was awed. He couldn't believe how well Dawn was doing, just a small two months after the death of her last family member. And she hasn't even mentioned it the entire time he's been with her, either. A sudden rush of guilt charged through his body as he recalled being shook up over the death of his goldfish for an entire month.

Dawn lifted up her own Pokétch. When she saw the time, two heavy tears poured out of either of her eyes at once. "...Today," she corrected. "You know what the last thing Ashley bought was?"

He couldn't respond. He still couldn't get over everything.

Dawn looked and reached over to Dusk's side of the blanket, alerting him. Finally, her shaking hand grabbed and started stroking the present she had given him back in Oreburgh City: the scarf.

"...H-How could you give this to me? It has to be way too special to you."

Dawn waited for the breeze that blew through the area to vanish in order to continue. "If we had to burn the entire city of Jubilife down, there was..." Dawn wiped the rest of the tears in her eyes on her T-shirt sleeve. "...No chance I was going to let the last thing I have of my sister's go up with it." She tried chuckling, though it got mixed in with tears and ended up coming out as a choke. "I still remember...I was going to buy a blue one that looked just like this, but she ripped it out of my hands and said that it'd look tacky with my blue hair..." It was becoming increasingly difficult to stop the flood. Her hand clenched Umbreon's blanket. "...So she bought that for me instead..."

Dusk closed his eyes, unsure of what to say or do. Eventually, he reached behind his neck and untied the warm scarf. He set it on his partner's stomach. "Well, we don't have to worry about that Jubilife thing anymore. I can't keep this from you any longer. Oh, and, um, Dawn...?"

"Yeah?" Though she was getting tired, she sat back up and started wrapping the scarf around her neck. She felt bad for accepting a returned gift, but she couldn't stand being separated from her sister any longer.

"My mom'll probably kill me for this, but..."

"...Mmm...?" Dawn said, accidentally a bit seductive.

"...Do you want to stay at our house? I mean, just until Rowan gets back..." Dusk was uneasy about asking her. It's not that he didn't want her to have a friendly home. He just didn't want the lecture that came with living with a close, female friend.

That, however, wasn't Dawn's reaction. Her face began beaming, but after a moment, it quickly faded. She looked down at the design on the blanket, trying to divert her gaze from Dusk. The prospect of this subject instantly washed away the previous subject, and took Dawn's tears with it. "N-No, I...I couldn't. I mean, you know, money's tight and everything...I-I'd probably just hurt everything even more. I--"

Dusk looked at her and smirked. "You can't always play the heroine, Dawn."

Dawn gasped. She couldn't believe that came back in her face. "Do you...I...Would...your mother really not mind?" Dawn walked in and out of three different questions. She still couldn't manage to look at Dusk.

"If I can pester my way into getting a Pokémon, I can sure as yesterday do it again," he laughed. "Granted, it might take me one or four years, but I--"

He was cut off when Dawn reached over and threw her arms around his neck, with her face resting on his shoulder. "You'll never know how much this means to me, Dusk..."

He wouldn't have minded the moment so much if it wasn't for something hard and cold being on her wrist. "What's...?" He reached for her right hand and pulled it in front of him.

Dawn pulled herself away and turned her head, blushing.

Since the darkness blinded his vision, Dusk pounded the object a few times. It created a hollow type of sound. "...Is that a cast?!"

Dawn's face was still red. She was grateful the night covered it. "I'm sorry, Dusk...I was going to tell you in the cave, but then I fell and we got talking about that, then I was going to tell you when we entered the forest, but then we got talking about other stuff...Eventually, I was just going to wait until morning, since the dark seemed to be covering it up pretty well...I'm really sorry. Now that you've invited me into your home, I feel horrible to return the favor by lying..."

"How did it happen?"

"Well, you know...back on Route 203..." Her voice drifted away.

"Your arm broke because of that?" Dusk almost yelled, but remembered the sleeping Pikachu at the foot of the blanket and stopped himself.

"Well...I guess so, huh?" Dawn smiled. "Nurse Joy fixed it for me, that's why it's in a cast. And that's also why I was late to arrive at your party. Again, sorry..."

Dusk noticed Dawn acting strangely apologetic tonight. "Is there something...you're not telling me?"

Dawn paused for a minute, then shook her head. "N-No. I was just, um...thinking about your offer, um..."

"Oh, well that was very convincing." Brendan's sarcasm was rubbing off on Dusk. "You could fool the government with those lying skills. Not that that's much of an accomplishment, but I'm just saying."

"Finished yet?" Dawn pouted. She didn't often enjoy sarcasm. "I just...don't want you to get mad at Wizard, that's all."

"Wizard? What did he do?"

Dawn stroked the side of her well-padded vest. "...If...he wasn't in my vest, then I could have landed on it, which probably would have taken most of the blow out..."

"You broke your arm...so Wizard wouldn't get hurt?" Dusk asked.

The somewhat emotionless sound in his voice confused Dawn on how she should reply. She let out a wry smile. "I guess so..."

"...Thank you."

"Huh?" Dawn let out quickly. She was surprised, and actually expected him to kick Wizard into the lake.

"Thanks...for saving Wizard. It means alot."

Dawn could have sworn she saw a tear in his eye, but she just figured it was her tired eyes playing tricks on her. "Just...doing my job."

"That reminds me, didn't you want to talk to me about something? When we were alone?" Dusk thought back to when they had left the Jubilife - Oreburgh cave the second time.

Dawn's eyes twinkled as she continued looking at the stars. "You know? We should really get some sleep," she replied, obviously wishing to dodge the subject.

They both laid back down on the blanket, using their bags as lumpy pillows. Moments later, Dusk dug into his pocket, took something out, and slid it over to Dawn.

She picked it up and felt the material. It was a crumpled piece of paper. "What's this?"

"Put it in your bag and read it the next time you feel lonely." Dusk hoped rolling over, giving Dawn his back, would end the conversation.

After she slipped it into a side compartment of her handbag, nothing else but the nocturnal Pokémon and Wizard's slight breathing could be heard for the rest of the night. They both dozed off, which eventually turned into a peaceful sleep.

_The next morning came. Dawn sat up happily and stretched her arms, letting the sun wash her entire body. Wizard was at the lake, lapping up water into his mouth. She turned her head to the other side of the blanket, only to see a wounded Shinx Pokémon laying where Dusk had been the night before._

_"What the--!?" she screamed. After she calmed down, she picked the Electric-type Pokémon into her arms._

_It was unconscious._

_Dawn turned her head quickly, looking everywhere for Dusk. She actually got somewhat dizzy from moving her head so fast. "Wizard? Where's Dusk?"_

_He looked up at her with a curious expression on his face. Some of his fur was dampened from the lake. "Pika?" _

_"What do you mean, 'Who's Dusk'!?" she replied, somehow understanding him. "Your Trainer, that's who!"_

_Wizard stood still for a moment, blankly looking at her. He slowly began shaking his head. _

"Wizard!!" Dawn shot up from the blanket.

Wizard, who was at the lake lapping water into his mouth, turned around and looked at her. "Pika?"

"Wait...what?" Dawn looked around. "That was...a dream?" she mumbled to herself. She turned to her side, only to see what frightened her the most. Laying on the blanket, where Dusk had been, was an injured Shinx. "AH!!" she yelped, rolling off the blanket and into the grass. "Um...Dusk?"

"Pikachu!"

Dawn turned her head to the Pokémon. Some of his fur was dampened from the lake.

"Pika pika, chu, pi Pikachu!" Wizard pointed into the forest.

Unfortunately, Dawn couldn't understand him quite as well as she had in her dream. "Dusk went back into the forest?" She sighed. "Unbelievable...Only Dusk would leave his only Pokémon here to--" She paused and gasped, feeling herself blush. "...To...defend me..."

"Pika?" He turned his head and scratched behind his ear. The distance between the two didn't allow him to hear the last thing Dawn said.

Dawn dropped the subject and crawled over to the small, unconscious Pokémon. "What's wrong with this Shinx? It's so cute..."

Normally, Shinx had huge, warming eyes, but they were closed at the moment. Dawn couldn't help but feel bad upon noticing all of the scrapes and cuts that were on its body.

"Pika! Pika Pika!" He started making a bunch of strange motions. Charades seemed to be the only way to get Dawn to understand him.

If this was an _anime_ that Dawn liked so much, a sweat-drop probably would have appeared somewhere on her face at this point. "Umm..."

Luckily, the sound of Dusk's shoes dashing across the leaves on the ground interrupted them. Dawn turned her head to see what he was doing.

"Wizard, here!" He ran past Dawn, never even noticing she was awake. "Start piling these sticks up, I'll grab--" He finally turned to her. "Oh...Morning."

"What's going on?"

"About half an hour ago, this Cyndaquil dragged that Shinx over here," Dusk explained with Wizard hard at work in the background. He pointed down to his feet where a small echidna-like Pokémon sat. There was a burning blaze on the top of its body, insisting that it was quite flared up about something. "I decided to get a fireplace going and see if that would help any. Poor thing's freezing."

It wasn't until that was said that Dawn realized the Shinx in her arms was at freezing temperatures. She frowned, but soon decided to lighten the mood. "So you caught that Cyndaquil?"

Dusk laughed. "Not exactly. It just promised that it'd help me look for wood, then it'd ignite it once we got back here. Wizard wanted to come too, but I didn't think leaving an unconscious Pokémon to guard and unconscious girl was a good idea."

"You could have woke me up, you know!" Dawn snapped.

"We're getting out of this forest today, and to do that, I needed to make sure you got some sleep," Dusk explained calmly.

"Oh...wait, you want to leave the forest? Don't you want to find--"

"Chances are those idiots are already out of the forest..." Dusk bent down and started helping Wizard plant the sticks in a fashionable pattern. "So the longer we stay here, the worse it gets. We just have to hope we find Eterna's exit before Jubilife's, that's all," he laughed.

Within a few minutes, the twigs and branches were ready to be ignited. Cyndaquil took a deep breath, then shot flames out of its mouth, causing the target to catch on fire. Dawn walked over and set Shinx as close to the fire as she could without burning it.

"It's going to be alright, isn't it?" Dawn asked, surprisingly concerned. She reached for her bandana that was still on the blanket where Wizard had been sleeping and tied it around her hair.

"Of course. I just hope it gets better soon. The faster we get out of this place, the better..."

"Dusk, I was..." Dawn stopped and planned her words. "I was thinking...I never really got to ask you what I wanted to."

Dusk bent over and picked up his blanket, which had been on the ground the entire time. "What is it?"

Dawn averted his gaze again. "What...exactly...happened at the Oreburgh Gym? I mean, after...?"

"Well...nothing that you don't really know about. I'm just happy you got healthy again after you got some fresh air."

Dawn saw what he was trying to do. And had no intentions of letting him do it. "...Please don't lie to me..."

Dusk sighed and zipped the blanket back into his bag, causing it to bulge out slightly. He walked over to Shinx and began petting it, not once making eye contact with Dawn. "You didn't faint...Not when you think you did, anyway," Dusk put bluntly.

"So...I was just doing nothing mindlessly? Because I don't remember anything past it..."

What Dusk would do to get off this subject right about now. "Not exactly..."

"Then what did I do?"

"We were just...talking. You asked me to take care of Charmy, if..." Dusk stood up. "Well, you know..."

"If I continued my family tradition, huh?"

Dusk didn't reply. He decided to leave out the part about her saying 'Don't stop holding me,' though he remembered her saying it full-well...And the whole part of Roark almost killing her himself. "You really don't remember saying anything?"

Dawn's head fell. "Not really...I probably sounded like an idiot..."

Dusk had a hard time believing she couldn't remember anything. "_She was holding an entire conversation with me_..." he pondered. "You sounded just fine," Dusk assured her. "Is that all that's on your mind? I want to make sure..."

"Huh? Make sure of what?" Dawn wondered.

"Well, after last night, I'm just worried you're not telling me something..."

Dawn blinked and reached into the farthest corners of her mind. "Um...I can play the guitar. That count?"

Dusk couldn't help but laugh. "I think that answers my question."

"...So? It's your turn," Dawn scoffed.

"...What?" Dusk turned around and looked at her, despite not knowing if that was a good idea or not.

Her hands were on her hips. "You seem quiet today. Is there something on your mind?"

Dusk laughed as an excuse to turn around. He wasn't sure what his expression would be, but chances are, he didn't want Dawn to see it. "After telling me about your life, my problems don't seem like anything."

He was caught off-guard when a hand landed on his shoulder. Its gentle touch forced his heart to forget about beating once.

"It's not a competition, Dusk," Dawn said softly. "My problems don't, and never will take precedence over yours...C'mon, what's wrong?"

"Actually, it's just a little funny. I've, uhm...Never really seen my father either, so..."

"I'd like to say I don't know how that feels..." Dawn seated herself on an old tree stump that was laying by the fire. "But you have a loving mother. I could tell how close you two were by how much she cried while you were packing."

"Dawn, I...I'm sorry, I just don't really want to talk about this right now." Dusk couldn't deny that it felt good to get things out to a close friend, but he still felt like it was wrong to complain about something like this when that friend has it, literally, three times as worse.

Dawn saw right through him. "Is it because of me?"

"W-What?"

Dawn stood up. "Is it because I don't have a living mother anymore, that you don't think I should talk about it? That I don't _know_ how it _feels_ to have a mother care for me?"

Dusk felt even worse. Dawn had completely taken his message the wrong way.

"Let me tell you something!" Giving the innocent boy the five-star course of verbal pain, Dawn pointed her index finger at him threateningly. "I knew a great mother for twelve years of my life, so before you just assume I don't know what I'm talking about, think about..." She paused only for a moment before storming off into the woods.

Wizard was somewhat frightened at her anger, even though he was no part of that conversation.

Dusk didn't move. His brain couldn't process the situation fast enough.

Seeing his Trainer's reaction, Wizard dashed off after Dawn himself. "Pika!"

Dusk sat down on the tree stump Dawn was just on, took his beret off, and ran his hand through his hair. "Maybe she should have slept a bit longer..." he noted out loud. He leaned forward and started petting the Cyndaquil.

------------------------

By the time Wizard had found her, she was leaning against a tree, crying. "Pika, Pika!"

"Stupid Dusk, stupid, thinking he can just say whatever he wants...No decency. It never occurred to him that this might be a touchy subject to me?" she rambled out before deciding to acknowledge the Pikachu. "Did Umbreon send you out after me?"

"Pika Pikachu..."

Dawn sighed heavily. After a moment of thinking and composing herself, she bent down and picked Wizard up. "You're right. I know he didn't mean to make fun of me...Your Trainer's too nice for that..."

He began rubbing the side of Dawn's face with his paw. "Pi ka chu!"

"I'm sorry, Wizard. I'm just beginning to forget what it's actually like to be loved so much, and it scares me. And besides that..." She looked up at the trees. Sunlight was seeping through various holes in between the leaves. "I just miss my momma..."

-----------------------

"...Stop it! Stop it!"

The Shinx had risen and was full of vigor. It had tackled Dusk to the ground and started licking his face as a means to say thank-you. Dusk was forced to laugh at the ticklish tongue lashing against his face.

"Alright, alright, that's enough..." Dusk picked the Shinx up and set it on the ground, allowing himself to sit up again.

"Shinx!" it barked.

Umbreon continued petting it behind its left ear. "Man, you remind me of Nuclear...If you can eat three slices of ham in thirty seconds, then--"

"Dusk?"

The sudden voice behind him startled him, though he soon recognized it. He didn't stand up quite yet. "Oh. Dawn, I--"

"PikaCHU!" Happy to see the revived Electric-type, Wizard leaped out of Dawn's hands and began playing with it. Cyndaquil quickly joined.

"I really do want to apologize...I took what you said and blew it completely out of proportion. I'm sorry," Dawn blushed. She hated admitting she was wrong about anything.

"No, it's my--" Dusk couldn't get more then that out.

"Don't take the blame for this one, Umbreon!" Dawn commanded.

Again, that cringe...

"It's my fault. I know that you wouldn't...er, nevermind." She owned up with herself that she couldn't possibly ever tell Dusk what she had told Wizard. "Anyway, I see that Shinx is doing fine."

Dusk was really curious 'what he wouldn't' do, but decided the change in subject was more important. "Yep. It's still got a few scratches on it, but it'll be fine."

Dawn randomly hugged her friend. Blood rushed to his head, but Dawn's eyes were shut during the embrace, so she couldn't see it.

"Um..."

"From now on, I'm going to do this whenever I want something, okay?"

Dusk laughed. It helped cool his face down. "Alright, I'll remember that. What's it for this time?"

Dawn turned around instantaneously and started kicking the dirt with the bottom of her shoe. "Well, it's just, you know," she stuttered. "We've been with those two Pokémon for quite awhile now, and no Trainers have come by to pick them up or anything, so I just kinda got the thought that--"

"Do you have enough Pokéballs?"

"I only need one." She reached inside her bag and pulled out two Pokéballs: one Charmy's, the other one being empty.

"They seem like good friends, you probably shouldn't break them up..." Dusk suggested, looking at the three Pokémon playing together.

"I'm not..." Dawn spun around for the sole purpose of giving her friend a sly look. "...Because you're getting the other one!"

"What?! This isn't my idea!"

"Look, I was just hoping that, since they're good friends, we should each get one...They aren't that much different than we are, you know..." Dawn reasoned.

"Minus the snout and ability to shoot fire and electricity from our mouths, right?" Dusk smiled cheerfully. "You only have one Pokéball, don't you?"

"...And there's that," she answered quickly. "But I'm just trying to say...!"

"Don't worry. I still like your first reason." Dusk reached for his belt and took off one of two Pokéballs he had attached to it. "Which one you want?"

"Please let me get the Shinx! It's so cute!"

"Good thing you backed that up, or I was going to say that the only reason you want the Shinx is because it's already weake--GUH!"

Again, Dusk was interrupted by a handbag thrown into his face.

"Alright!" Dawn yelled out. "How would you two like to come with us?"

"You're supposed to battle them, not reason with them..." Dusk sighed. "I swear that I'm leaving if you bribe them next."

The three of them stopped playing and turned to the humans.

"Pika?"

"Cynda?" the Fire-type Pokémon asked Wizard.

"Pika! Pika pika chu, pi!" he replied with a cheerful nod.

"Alright! Let's go, Char--my?" Before she could stop herself from releasing Charmy, she felt Shinx cuddling up to her boot. Eventually, it laid down on it.

As he came out of the Pokéball, Charmy kept his expression firm, deciding to intimidate his opponent right off the bat. His reaction turned to surprise when he looked back at his Trainer to see the rival Pokémon was sleeping on her shoe.

Dawn could feel that _anime sweat-drop _again. "...Uhm...So now what?"

"It obviously wants to travel with you anyway...Wouldn't fighting it kind of be like fighting your own teammate?" Dusk wondered out loud.

"Right, so...Pokéball...go?" She dropped the empty Pokéball on her foot.

It bounced off the still-sleeping Shinx and captured it. The ball rolled twice, then calmed down.

"I caught Shinx!" Dawn shrieked suddenly, her tone as high-pitched as Dusk had ever witnessed. He rubbed his now-ringing ears.

Charmy, much like his Trainer, also felt that _anime sweat-drop _roll down his face. "Piiiplup..."

After regaining his senses, Dusk found it hard to take his eyes off of his target. "Doesn't look like Cyndaquil plans on going down that easily."

Cyndaquil's flames burned high. Though Wizard had explained that Dusk and Dawn were amazing Trainers, its pride stopped it from rolling over for them like the Shinx did.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way. Ready, Wizard?"

"Pika!" Wizard leaped through the air and skidded on the ground in front of Dusk.

Dawn looked over at her partner. "_Dusk wasn't even this flared up when his Pokémon got stolen_..._He's got a one-track mind..._" She felt herself blush, so she turned her head in another direction. "_...Kinda cute._"

Wizard shot a glance at Cyndaquil, who didn't really want to fight its new friend. Nonetheless, Wizard's competitive glance assured him it was all for fun. Cyndaquil lowered its flames to a smolder, until they eventually burned out.

Dusk didn't waste any time. "We got work to do. Wizard, Thunderbolt!"

"Pikachu!" Wizard yelled quickly, soon discharging a bolt of lightning at his foe.

The Cyndaquil jumped out of the way. Soaring through the air, it launched a multitude of small fireballs at the yellow mouse.

"Pika?!"

"Whoa, that thing's fast!" Dawn complimented.

Some of the fireballs hit Wizard in the face, causing him to lose his balance and fall over.

"Wizard! You alright?"

The Pokémon quickly stood up, appearing as though it was barely hurt at all. A wide grin came to his face. He was glad that his friend wasn't holding back.

"Great. Change of plans, Wizard. Let's give Quick Attack a shot!" Dusk set aside his special attacks and decided to try a physical assault.

"Pika...Pika...Pika..." Wizard began moving so fast, it could easily be mistaken for vanishing and reappearing across the battlefield.

"Now move in for the strongest Tackle you've got, buddy!"

Wizard jumped through the air, forcing everybody on the ground, including Cyndaquil, to watch him. He landed on the other side of Cyndaquil and rammed his head into its side.

"Um...That's one way to do it," Dusk mentioned quietly. "Alright, try Thunderbolt again!"

"QUILLLL!!" Before Pikachu could launch its attack off, Cyndaquil opened its mouth, releasing black smoke around the entire area.

"_This can't be very good for the environment_..." Dawn thought, covering her mouth from the smoke with her arm.

"Wizard! Run around in a wide circle using Agility!"

Wizard began dashing at incredible speeds again, only this time in a circle, as Dusk had commanded. After running around a few times, the vision-blinding smoke began to get caught in the whirlwind Wizard was producing. Eventually, it became a full-fleshed tornado of black clouds.

"Cynda...QUILL!!" The Fire-type Pokémon released a blazing Flamethrower from its mouth, hitting Wizard dead-on, and knocking him behind a rock. The cyclone ceased, along with the black smoke it carried.

Dusk got anxious. That Flamethrower looked cindering. "Wizard..."

A moment of dead silence passed. Wizard jumped out from behind the rock.

Cyndaquil ran up and Tackled it, but it went right through Wizard, causing him to disappear.

Even Dusk didn't know what was going on. "W-Wizard?"

Suddenly, Wizard jumped out from the other side. Then another, and another. A final one jumped on top of the rock.

"He must be using Double Team..." Dawn thought out loud. "Did you teach him that?"

"Not that I'm currently aware of..." Dusk mumbled. "Wizard! Use Skull Bash!"

Every single Wizard clone looked more threatening than the next. "Piiiika..."

Cyndaquil started panicking. Too much was happening too fast for the tiring echidna. It tried Tackling three of them, attempting to break their concentration, only to have the real one, the one on the rock, left standing.

"Chu!" Wizard launched himself through the air at amazing speeds, straight into where his last physical attack had hit.

Cyndaquil was sent flying, slamming hard into a tree. It slid down and writhed.

"Alright, almost done. Pokéball, go!" Dusk shot a familiar orb spinning through the air.

Wizard, however, jumped up into the air and intercepted the ball with his tail, launching it back to its sender. "Chu," he shook his head.

Dusk looked behind his Pokémon to see Cyndaquil standing. Bruised, but standing. "...What?!"

"That thing just won't quit..." Dawn added.

"Wizard, Bite it!"

"That thing knows Bite?!" his partner yelled.

Dusk broke away from the battle long enough to look at Dawn. "When you think about who his original Trainer was, can you say you're surprised?"

She slumped back. "...You're right."

Wizard lunged at it and clamped his teeth into Cyndaquil's back.

The Fire Pokémon retaliated by igniting the flames on its back again. Since Wizard still refused to drop it, Cyndaquil began running in circles, hoping to shake the Pikachu loose. When that didn't work, it began rolling on the ground. Once more, it still couldn't shake Wizard off of its back.

"Wizard, give it a solid Thunderbolt!"

Though the active flames made it difficult, Wizard heard the command. He surged electricity through Cyndaquil's body. As could be imagined, Cyndaquil quickly stopped running as the lightning tore up and down its spine.

Finally, Cyndaquil's flames stopped and it fell on the ground. Wizard rolled off of him, burned and tired.

"One more time...Pokéball, get it!" Dusk shot a second Pokéball at Cyndaquil.

This time, it collided with its target, and trapped it inside. The Pokéball rolled an unusual four times, but Cyndaquil eventually stopped struggling and let itself be captured.

Nobody would guess that Dusk's blood was pumping. A smirk of pride on his face, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked towards the ball at a casual pace.

"Charmy! Try to cool Wizard down with a Water Gun," Dawn told her Pokémon.

"Pip!" He nodded and waddled over to Wizard. "Luuuup...!" He sprayed a gentle flow of water from his mouth, revitalizing the mouse.

"Pika...? Pika!" Wizard was happy to not only be revived, but be revived by a close friend, too. He grabbed hold of Charmy's flippers and danced around with him.

"Thanks, Dawn." Dusk was glad to see his Pokémon burn-free. He bent down to Cyndaquil's Pokéball and looked at it intently.

"No problem. Congratulations on catching Cyndaquil!"

"Thanks..."

"Oh? Seeing as how this is the first time you actually captured a Pokémon, I was kinda hoping for a bit more excitement..." Dawn stated, slightly confused.

"I just got thinking...Since we each have one now, what should we nickname them?" Dusk asked.

Dawn, a bit relieved that was the only problem, pondered the question for a few moments before snapping her fingers. "You could name Cyndaquil Moonite!"

"Moonite?" Dusk didn't like the name at first, but after saying it, it did kind of roll off the tongue.

"Yeah! And I'll name Shinx Sunnite!" she continued with vigor.

"...Your amount of energy is terrifying me, Dawn."

Dawn folded her arms. "Well, no matter how many Pokémon we catch, we're still trapped in this forest...Better to laugh than cry, my mom always said..."

"At any rate, let's get out of here. Our new solar system Pokémon need an intergalactic PokéCen--"

Dawn put her hand up to Dusk's mouth, instantly quieting him.

The wind chimed, rustling the trees. When it died down, a single voice could be heard. "Biiii..."

Dawn quickly turned around to see where it had come from, but found nothing. After standing still for atleast a minute, waiting for it again, she removed her hand from Dusk's face, allowing him to talk again.

Dusk rubbed his mouth. "...A 'shut up' would have worked."

"S-Sorry. I thought I heard something. Did you...hear that too, by any chance?"

"I heard something, but it was probably just some random Pokémon..."

Dawn sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right..." She turned her head over her shoulder one last time. "...Maybe, anyway."

At 9:22, they picked up their bags off the ground and continued on their trek through the forest, with Charmy and Wizard right behind them.


	8. The Festival

While walking, Dawn was fumbling around with her Pokédex, playing the multiple cries of all the Pokémon that was registered inside of it.

Dusk wished he didn't mind, but the constant sounds coming from the machine were disturbing him. He eventually couldn't stop himself from asking. "What are you doing?"

"I'm seeing if I can find a Pokémon that sounds like that...whatever we heard back there." Dawn answered, not taking her eyes off of the Pokédex.

"You're still worried about that?"

"Admit it, it was kinda weird...Anyway, if it's bugging you, I'll stop. Sorry." Dawn gave up her search for the time being and slipped the contraption back into her bag.

"I'd say we worry about it later. Right now, my vote goes to checking that place out," Dusk suggested, pointing ahead of them.

"Ah...! We finally made it, Dusk!"

Ahead of them was Eterna City, 'The City that Connects the Past with the Present.' From what they could see of it, the Town was slightly bigger than Oreburgh, but not as busy as Jubilife. A lush, green lawn was spread about across the entire city anywhere there wasn't a building or road. An enormous windmill, blowing steadily, could be seen in the distance.

"Amazing..." Dawn remarked.

"We can't just sit here and look at the sights. We got to get to the Pokémon Center!" Dusk dashed off through the little amount of woods that were left.

"Oh, right!"

They soon arrived at Eterna City's Pokémon Center. It looked much like the past two Centers they had been in, except the walls were a light shade of brown rather than pink. Unlike the others, however, nobody was at the counter when they walked in.

Dusk walked up to the desk and put his hands on it. "Uhm...Service?"

"Do you think this place is--Oh?" Dawn was interrupted when a door on their left opened.

Out from the door came a male doctor, having a common uniform on. A stethoscope was wrapped around his neck. His brown hair matched the walls. His glasses had black frames, though he took them off as soon as he noticed he had customers, freeing his blue eyes. "Hello there! Sorry to keep you waiting," he said politely, stepping to the other side of the counter.

"Whoa...With all due respect, you must feel really out of place. All the other PokéCenters we've been to have been run by females..." Dawn noted.

The doctor began chuckling. "Ah, yes. I'm the one in a thousand, as they say. I'm actually Oreburgh City's Pokémon Center's Nurse Joy's brother. Have you been that way yet? I hope you weren't there when Roark, the Gym Leader, got busted. I heard that was pretty brutal."

Dusk and Dawn looked at each other and smiled, not sure what to say. "Um...Yeah, we heard about that..." Dawn itched her arm. "Anyway, we were hoping you could heal our Pokémon."

"That's what we're here for." The doctor bent down and picked up a metal tray for them to put their Pokéballs in.

Dawn recalled Charmy and set both of her items in the tray. Dusk set one Pokéball next to them.

"Would you like me to heal your Pikachu as well?"

"No, thanks. It'll be fine," Dusk responded.

"Great. I'll have these nice and ready for you in a few hours. While you're waiting, feel free to go check out the festival, if you haven't already."

"Festival?" Dawn wondered.

"Yup. Once a year, for an entire weekend, people from all over the country visit the two statues of Dialga and Palkia that Eterna City's famous for, celebrating all that they've done for this town."

"Really...?" Dawn was intrigued. She'd always been a sucker for myths.

"Indeed. If you're interested, the monuments are just down the street from here. In the meantime, I'll go heal your Pokémon, alright? I'll see you in a little bit." The doctor smiled and walked down the hall, taking a right when he reached the end of it.

"Do you want to go, Dusk?"

"I guess, but we should probably call Jubilife and see if May and Brendan are still there first..." Dusk suggested. "It's still pretty early, so we might be able to catch them."

"Oh...Yeah, we probably should..." Dawn scraped the clean floor with her boot.

Dusk noticed his friend was somewhat skeptical, for whatever reason. "If you want to go to that festival thing, go on ahead. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"No, it's OK! I'll contact Professor Rowan and tell him where we are," Dawn decided.

They walked over to different booths.

Dusk picked up the phone, dialed a few numbers, and waited for the other end to pick up.

"Jubilife City Pokémon Center, where we accept your Pokémon's smiles as payment! How may I help you?" a cheery voice answered.

Umbreon felt slightly more than stupid asking a question like this. "Hi, I was wondering if, um...two people by the name of Brendan and May were still there?"

"Brendan and May?" As the nurse said this, four footsteps could be heard getting closer.

A second later, another voice came on the phone. "Um...Hello?"

"May?"

May was relieved to hear his voice again. "Oh, hi Dusk! Where are you?"

"We hit Eterna City. What are you two up to?"

"We were just leaving to go to Eterna Forest ourselves and find you," May giggled at the irony. "I'm glad you're alright. But why can't I see you on this monitor...?"

"Sorry, Eterna's Center doesn't have monitors, apparently. By any chance, do you plan on coming to Eterna yourselves?"

"Of course...You aren't getting away from us that easily," she said jokingly. "Why do you ask?"

"Dawn's sitting a few booths away from me, so I can't really give you the details here...But I just got a bad feeling about this place, and the more backup we have, the better..." Dusk mentioned softly.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that...We'll get over there as soon as we can. Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Dawn broke her wrist, but it's nothing to worry about. We also caught two new Pokémon in the forest, should you care about that."

"Dusk, of course I care! I can't wait to see them. We'll try to reach Eterna by nighttime, alright?" May really wanted to keep talking, but knew the more time she wasted, the less they'd have to get through Eterna Forest.

"Alright. Oh, by the way, if you come across a clearing in the woods, just head north half a mile, then east another half mile, and you'll see Eterna. Sorry, I can't really help you much more then that..."

"Don't feel bad, Dusk. We'll get there as soon as we can!"

"Thanks, May." Dusk smiled to himself. There was something about May's happiness that was impossible to feel bad around.

"Right! We'll see you then, alright?" May hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Brendan, standing next to her, asked.

"We have to get to Eterna City as fast as we can!" May slipped by him and ran out the door.

"Time Trial...I love those!" Brendan chased after her.

Nurse Joy ran after them. "Wait!" she cried, but it was too late. The Trainers were already out of earshot. She scratched her cheek. "...We have maps of Eterna Forest, if you'd like one..."

Back in Eterna, a few telephone booths down...

"I'm sorry to hear that, Dawn. I do hope your broken ligament won't hinder your mission," the gruff voice at the other end of the line said.

"It won't, Professor Rowan. You only need one hand for this stuff anyway..." Dawn reminded him.

"Hmph. At any rate, I'm astonished you have covered so much ground in such little time. At this rate, you may just finish that Pokédex in time."

"Well, we might have hit a small speed bump..." Dawn broached, not fully confident that it was a good idea to talk to the Professor about this.

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"Dusk's Pokémon..._kinda _got stolen by somebody..."

"...Hmph," Rowan repeated. "I can't say I'm surprised. That boy would lose his head if it wasn't attached."

"Don't say that! It wasn't Dusk's fault!" Dawn wasn't going to let her friend take lip from anybody, even someone as highly respected as Professor Rowan. "Geez, the thief knocked him out and ran away before we even realized what had happened. Give him a break."

"Either way, it's imperative to have a Pokémon with you at all times. Otherwise, you are asking for trouble. Have you managed to find a better way of transportation yet?" Rowan changed the subject.

"No. We kinda met a few good friends, and they decided to travel with us, and getting four Bikes would kinda be a hassle, so we just decided to do the rest on foot..." Dawn rambled out mindlessly.

"I don't care if Spider-Man accompanies you on your mission, as long as you hand me those Pokédexes by the end of August."

Dawn blinked. She was too paralyzed to reply right away. She'd never heard Rowan speak of a fictional character. Ever. "Right now, Dusk and I are going to relax at some celebration of a couple Pokémon, or something..."

"Ah, you must be referring to the ritual of Dialga and Palkia, correct? I had figured that must be happening soon. Enjoy yourselves, but remember that there's work to be done."

"I know, Professor. I have to go now. I'll talk to you when we get to the next city, okay?"

"You'd better," Rowan warned.

Dawn quickly hung up the phone. "_If he tells me that there's 'work to be done' one more time_..." she thought to herself.

Rowan also rested the phone back on its receiver and chuckled. "To think, the beginning of this week, those two didn't even know each other. Now I can't even make a simple remark without getting attacked."

Dusk walked up behind Dawn. "What did Rowan have to say?"

"Just yelling at us, like usual..." she replied in a low tone.

"You actually sound somewhat surprised," Dusk observed.

Dawn spun around in her chair so she was facing Dusk. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Well, that depends on how much I'm getting paid to repeat it to somebody...I'm pretty cheap. I'll warn you of that."

"I know we sorta talked about this already, but...I hate working for Rowan," Dawn sighed. "I mean, he can be so rough sometimes! He hardly listens to any of my suggestions, and my reward for finishing something for him is doing something else for him. Two weeks in, and I have yet to hear, 'Good job, Dawn,' or, 'Why not take a break?'"

"I can't find a reason to blame you." Dusk rested his hands inside of his pockets and leaned on the wall. "So why don't you just quit?"

"Because! Rowan was the only..." Dawn stopped and got up from the chair. "No, forget it. I'm sick of crying all the time." She tried walking away, but Dusk stopped her.

"Was he the only one that would give you a home after...?"

Dawn froze and tapped the floor with her foot, like she always did when she was nervous. "...Well...kinda..."

"You do know that you can live at my place, right?"

"Yeah, but that's just until he gets back from Kanto, and I already can't believe you'd invite me into your home for that long, please don't ask me to stay any longer..."

"Alright," Dusk got off the wall and walked over to Dawn. "I won't ask you. Instead, I'll tell you. Dawn, you can stay at my house for as long as you want, or need to. It's up to you, of course, but I want you to know that the option's there."

A wide smile came across Dawn's face. "Somehow, I knew you'd find a way to say that anyway..."

"You know me. I have a way with words. But c'mon! We're thinking too far ahead. Let's go see what this statue-worship is about." Dusk paused for a second. He hid his face from Dawn under his beret. "But, Dawn, I...Before you do make your decision, I want you to know something..."

"Dusk, really, if it's too much to ask, I can just stay at Ro--" Dawn was interrupted when Dusk smacked her in the back of the head.

"Tag." He gave Dawn a chance to realize what happened, then quickly bolted past her and through the Pokémon Center doors.

"Oh, very mature, Dusk! Very mature!" Despite the hypocrisy, Dawn chased after him.

Fifteen minutes later, they had found that they had dashed themselves all the way into the festival. Looking around, booths of multiple games were everywhere, with just as many workers screaming out to the busy street, trying to attract customers to their own booth.

"This...is one strange ritual," Dawn said.

Dusk read a sign in front of one of the games. "'Shoot Meowth between the eyes and win yourself a grand prize'...Atleast they're keeping it kid-friendly."

They continued walking down the street in awe. Eterna City seemed to spare no expense during this event.

Not paying attention to where she was going, Dawn bumped into a man on the street. "Oops! I'm so sorry, sir!"

The forty-year-old man turned around and glared at her. He was wearing a shiny orange suit with a red tie draped over it. His face was born for evil, or so Dawn's first thought of him was. His hair was very professionally combed. Ignited hatred was flaming his eyes. "Watch where you're going, girl!"

"Whoa, calm down, dude," Dusk stepped in. "She apologized, what more do you want?"

"Don't call me 'dude.' You shall address me properly. Secondly, brush that Pikachu's fur. It's a disgrace. And finally, getting out of my way would be a great start." He sidestepped them, snorted, then walked out of view.

"...Oh, I'll address him as something alright," Dusk said once the man was safely out of earshot.

"Pikachu..." Wizard muttered out from behind his clenched teeth.

"Suits. What are you going to do? Let's just forget about him." Dawn brushed the small amount of hair that her bandana didn't cover out of her eyes.

Dusk remained silent.

"...Dusk? What are you thinking about?"

Dusk casually began walking over to a booth. "I'm thinking I need to shoot something inbetween the eyes and win myself a grand prize. I'll be right back."

Most of the day came and went. It was now 19:15. The carnival had lost most of its population, though the owners of the booths were still sitting around.

Dusk and Dawn had stepped off of the road and found a side trail. Ahead of them laid a flight of stairs, which led to the top of a platform.

"What do you think's up there?" Dawn asked.

"With any luck, the Book of Life, because I'm going to need to write my own name on it after what I did to that poor Meowth..."

"You do know they were plastic, right?"

"Dawn, I saw blood!" he shouted, sounding horrified.

They reached the summit. It was mainly just a grassy field on top, though there were two large statues in the center of it. A man was standing by them, observing every detail about them.

The two eventually drew closer to him, when they noticed that he looked familiar.

"Dusk, please don't tell me--"

"Only if you don't tell me first," Dusk bargained.

There was no doubt that it was the same man from before. He noticed them and walked over to them. "Do you have some business in this Town? If not, you're free to leave."

"Oh, poke a hole in your head and let some of that air out, already!" Dawn quickly snapped back.

"I see it's past your bedtime, girl. Now go back to that rock in Sandgem Town you live under and give yourself a timeout," the man said briskly.

Dawn was sheer moments away from tackling the guy to the ground. "...What did you just say to me?"

"You're the girl who's pawning off that professor, aren't you? I'd recognize that ditzy mug anywhere. Just because you live with that old bat, you think you can walk around and command everything. I don't know, or care, how this boy became your slave, but don't even think about trying that with me. You don't know who you're dealing with."

Dawn was ready to explode. "If I gouged your eyes out with a fork right now, you wouldn't have to worry about recognizing any--"

"Get out of my way, and don't let me see you again. And for the last time, comb that blasted Pikachu." He turned around and walked the other way. He slowly descended from view using the stairs that were on the other side of the platform.

"Dusk," Dawn announced firmly.

"...Y-Yes?" Dusk was off-put by her voice.

"See that man right there?" Dawn pointed at the person who had just left them. "If we ever see him again, we get his name. That word will be synonymous with a few four-letter words of the English language, okay?

"_Holy Frank, Batman!...Doesn't do much for me, but if you say so, Dawn..._" He gulped. "Um, yes. Ma'am."

While his human friends were busy being idiots, Wizard was observing the two enormous statues. "Pikachu, pika!" he called.

They ran over to where the mouse was standing and began studying the objects themselves.

"Wow...These things are amazing..." Dawn remarked, shoving the previous conversation into the back of her mind.

"You think these are those Dialga and Palkia that the guy at the Pokémon Center was talking about?"

"Wait, there's something inscribed here..." Dawn leaned over to one of the statues and tried to make out the fading words. "'Dialga, the hero of time, the hero of peace. May you continue to cast your cure on this world as you sleep on the peak of the Mountain of Spears...' Kinda weird, isn't it?"

"Wait, this one says the same thing," Dusk alerted. "Except instead of time, it has space..."

They rattled their brains over the situation for awhile, but eventually gave up and walked into the soft grass and sat down. Wizard glanced at the ten-foot-tall statues one last time, then ran over to the Trainers.

"So now what?" Dawn asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Every time we're alone, sitting on the grass, I always end up crying over something, and then you find some way to cheer me up. So let's get it over with."

"Kinda sucks having a track-record like that..." Dusk thought out loud.

"Yeah, try being the crybaby part of it. Sucks even more..." Dawn suddenly started laughing. "It sucks to be me!"

A moment of silence blew through. Dusk took his beret off and put it over Wizard's face, blinding him. He started running around in circles, causing the two humans to laugh. Randomly, he hit somebody's shoe and bounced back once due to recoil. The beret tipped to the side of his head, causing one eye to be uncovered from behind it. He looked up with the unblinded eye to see the person he ran into was holding a cell phone at him. Stunned, Wizard blankly watched him until he eventually moved.

"Great! I'm glad your Pikachu stayed like that for me. It's so cool!" The person lowered his cell phone inches in front of Dusk's face. On it was a picture of Wizard that he had just taken.

"Um...Hey, there..." Dusk said slowly.

"Oh! Really sorry, my bad. The name's Jun!"

Jun was equipped with odd, bushy, blonde hair on his head. His shirt was white with red stripes streaming across it, and his legs were covered with casual blue jeans, hiding most of the brown running shoes that he had on. His voice was very energetic, and it seemed as though he had a hard time not moving. He looked about the same age as the other Trainers.

"I'm Dawn. This is Dusk! Over there is Wizard," Dawn introduced, pointing to everybody in turn.

"Cool! So, what's everybody up to?"

Dusk and Dawn looked at each other. "Um...not much, I guess," the former replied.

"Ah, I've had those days. Yupyupyup," Jun nodded his head. "Anyway, while I was waiting in the PokéCenter for my Pokémon to heal--well, wait, I mean, why else would I be waiting in a PokéCenter? I have better stuff to do than watch four walls! Haha! Anyway, while I was doing that, two stylish peoples asked me to come up here and see what you two were doing. I was coming this way for the festival anyway, so I told 'em, 'why not?' and found my way up here."

"Two...? Was one a brunette and the other have white hair with a headband?" Dusk asked, assuming their friends had finally arrived.

Jun thought for a moment. "Mmm...Nope, don't think so. One had long red hair, and the other had purplish hair."

Dusk and Dawn quickly shot a glance at each other.

"So anyway," Jun took a seat on the side of Dusk that Dawn wasn't. "You two look pretty bored. I've heard that communication is the key to a good relationship, you know."

"We're...just friends..." At this point, Dusk wondered how many more times he'd have to repeat that.

"Really? Aw dang, that sucks. You two look so cute together."

Dusk and Dawn both immediately blushed. Both refused to look at each other.

"Hey, Jun, um..." Dawn spoke up, though she couldn't look at who she was talking to. Dusk was in the middle of them, and she felt her face was still too red to look at him. "So what brings you here anyway? The Gym?"

Jun laughed. "No, no, I beat this Gym a long time back. Like, a week! Maybe more! I was actually going to head for Sunyshore to get my last Gym Badge next, but I noticed this festival was coming up, and I couldn't miss that! I love that game where you have to whack the Bidoof with the hammer! Finally, revenge!"

"Wow, it must have taken a long time to travel that far. Do you have one of those Mach Bikes, or did you just take a plane?"

"What? Nope, neither. I ran. All the way. Running's great excercise, you know! You should try it. I mean, not that you need to excercise! Well, everybody needs to excercise. I meant losing weight. Atleast, that's what I meant when I said you don't need to excercise. But running's fun! Very relaxing. Especially by the beach. Hearing the waves crash against the sand and all that crap. Watch out for the Corphish, though. There was this one time, I was really hungry, and all that was around was Corphish, so I tried..."

Jun continued, but Dawn tuned him out. "_He ran...from Sunyshore...to here? That's...all...of Sinnoh_..." She blinked, wondering if this boy was even human.

"...And so the Corphish was, like, 'No, you'll never eat me alive!' So I turned my cannon to the west just a little bit and--"

"I don't mean to interrupt, but could you tell us anything more about who asked you to talk to us...?" Dusk asked.

"Oh, sure! Let's see...They were wearing kinda skimpy outfits. They were all white, except for a worn-out letter 'R' on their shirts. Kinda weird. Probably trying to start a fashion craze or something. Wait, you do know them, right? It doesn't really sound like you do. If you don't, let's get back there and crush their heads into their necks! We don't need no stalkers in these parts, ain't I right? Yeah, c'mon, let's go! C'mon, Wizard! We'll show 'em!" Jun jumped off the ground. "Doh, wait, crap. I just remembered that they left the PokéCenter after asking me to find you two. Wait, then how was I supposed to tell them what you were up to if I didn't know where they went? I guess I ran out too fast before I could ask that. Haha! Anyway, we should find them anyway so we can beat 'em up and get some answers. I'll meet you guys at the Pokémon Center, alright?!" Jun dashed off at an unreal speed. It wasn't more than three seconds until he'd ran so far, he was out of sight.

Dusk and Dawn blinked. "...You know something, Dawn? I don't think he took one breath inbetween any of that..."

Wizard was just as confused as the Trainers were. The beret still covered one of his eyes. "...PiPika chu, chu?"

They started heading back for the Center. When they reached it, they noticed no lights were on inside. Dusk slowly grabbed the doorknob and cracked the door open, only to have a blast of loud music come screeching out of it. He quickly shut it on impulse. Being prepared for it this time, Dusk opened the door again and walked in, with Dawn soon behind him. Rather than no lights, however, there was a single mirror ball, dangling from the ceiling, spinning all around the room. They noticed the doctor was leaning on the counter and ran up to him.

"Ah! Are you back for your Pokémon?" the doctor screamed over the music.

"What's going on?" Dusk was almost completely mute under the loud effects and noisy crowd that was in the room.

"It's Thursday! Eterna City's Pokémon Center always has karaoke night on Thursdays!"

Dusk wanted to slap himself in the face, but Dawn grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the doctor. She instantly gave him a hug.

"What's this for?"

When she pulled her head back a little, the mirror ball spun straight across Dawn's face. A wide smile was all over it.

"...No! No, no, no!"

"Oh, c'mon! It'll be fun, and it'll take our minds off that prick in the orange jumpsuit we met today!" she reasoned.

"I don't sing, alright?!"

"Well, the stage is empty, and I need a male voice to back me up, so come on!" Dawn literally began dragging her reluctant friend by the collar of his shirt.

Dusk wanted nothing more than a sharp object to cut himself with right now.

"Alright, we have us a couple'a new faces tonight!!" the doctor announced from the background, rousing the crowd up.

Upon him saying it, the light turned to the stage to reveal Dawn, beaming, and Dusk, about ready to jump through the glass window that was behind them.

Dawn started tapping the touch screen monitor that laid in front of her. She was spinning through the songs, trying to find the one she wanted. "Oh, here it is! C'mon, Dusk, you have to remember this one. I listened to it all the time when I was little!"

The previous music stopped playing as the computer began loading Dawn's selection. In the meantime, Dawn grabbed two out of the four microphones that were resting on a stand, giving one to Dusk, and gripping onto another herself. Finally, the music started playing. The music was slow, but had a constant beat to it.

Dawn started the song off.

"_The magic feeling_..." Dawn was eccentric. She loved being on stage, in front of a crowd.

"_It's grown so strong._

_Always leads me to a place where I belong_..."

Knowing there was no better way out of this, Dusk sighed and tried to enjoy the moment.

"_Won't go away,_

_Never let me down..._

_I've got the greatest friends, that ever could be found..._

_Across every river!_

_Behind every tree!_

_On top of every mountain,_

_They're a part of you and me!_"

Dawn was having a blast. She was so happy Dusk finally agreed to sing with her.

"_One World! Now and forever!_

_Best friends, loyal and true!_

_One dream!_"

"_One dream, side by side,_

_There's nothin' we can't do!_"

"_One hand! Helpin' the other..._

_Each heart...Beating as one!_

_We live_-_-!_"

"_We live, always together..._

_Sharing the same bright sun!_

_You and me...And Pokémon!_"

The words ended for a minute, giving enough time for Dawn and Dusk to smile at each other. Though he'd never admit it, Dusk was having fun.

Dawn began again.

"_They rush like water,_

_They soar like the wind..._

_They're always with me,_

_Everyday that I begin_..."

"_They burn like fire,_

_They chill like ice..._

_They take on any challenge,_

_Make any sacrifice..._

_Across every river!_

_Behind every tree!_

_On top of every mountain,_

_They're a part of you and me!_

_--One world!_"

"_One world! Now and forever,_

_Best friends...Loyal and true!_

_--One dream!_"

"_One dream, that side by side,_

_There's nothin' we can't do!_

_--One hand!_"

"_One hand...Helpin' the other,_

_Each heart...Beating as one!_

_--We live!_"

"_We live, always together,_

_Sharing the same bright sun!_

_You and me, and Pokémon_..."

After bowing for the embarrassingly-massive amount of applause they received, they stepped off the stage and walked into a side room, then in another door, entering the room that they were going to sleep in for the night. Not surprising to anybody, it looked almost the exact same as the past two had been, though it appeared to be slightly cleaner.

Dawn fell down on the bottom bed. "Wow, that was a blast! Thank you so much for doing it with me!"

Dusk leaned on the wall and rubbed his eyes. "To think, twenty-four hours ago, I was wishing that freakin' Hoothoot would shut up so I could get to sleep..."

Dawn took her bandana off and laid it on top of her bag. "Oh, c'mon, you had fun..."

"You have a great singing voice, Dawn." Dusk took his beret and backpack off and set them on the top bunk for now.

Dawn blushed. "You...think so?"

Suddenly, they heard knocking on their door. "ROOM SERVICE!!" the opposite side screamed over the music that was still playing.

Alerted, Dusk slowly put his hand on the doorknob and opened it up.

"We don't have clean bedsheets, but we did steal the complimentary crackers that were at the Jubilife Pokémon Center," the man on the other side mentioned.

On the opposite side of the door was, surprising no one, Brendan and May. Both were exhausted and dirtied from their trek through Eterna Forest.

"May! Brendan!" Her energy still pumped up on high, Dawn jumped off the bed and hugged both of them.

"Well, you're as perky as ever, Dawn," Brendan laughed as it came to his turn. "No more two bowls of Frosted Flakes a day for you, young lady."

"Sorry...Dusk and I just got finished singing out there, and I guess I'm still a bit hyper..."

Brendan turned to Dusk. "You actually got roped into doing karaoke?"

"Yeah. I don't plan on showing my face to the general public for another week or two."

"You did good up there yourself, you know!" Dawn complimented. "Oh, and May, remind me that I want to talk to you about something tomorrow..."

"I will," May panted out.

"Hey, Dawn, could I talk to these two alone?" Dusk requested bluntly. "I want to ask them something..."

"Huh? Oh, um...sure! I'll go try to calm down in the shower." Dawn walked into the back door and shut it behind her.

"Alright..." Brendan stretched, then let himself into the room. "What's up, g?"

"A few hours back, we ran into this guy--"

"Fascinating story," Brendan complimented. "You should write books."

Dusk looked at him, puzzled. It took the boy a minute to figure out that it was sarcasm. "...Oh. Right. Anyway, this guy looked..." His voice drifted off, as did his eyes from Brendan. They landed on his partner instead. "...May? You alright?"

May was gripping onto Brendan's shoulder tightly with one hand, and holding her forehead with the other. Every single breath was harder to take than the last one. "Yes, I'm...fine. Just a little dizzy. Sorry...Please, continue..."

"Actually, why don't you head down to the cafeteria and get a snack?" Brendan suggested. "I'll be there in a few minutes, and I'll fill you in on everything."

She was much too weak to even think about thinking about resisting. She nodded and stumbled out of the room.

"You should go with her. It might not be safe for her to go there herself," Dusk mentioned. "She could barely walk in a straight line."

"Next time Dawn sees you, we might need a crane to pull you two apart. May'll be fine, let's get this out of the way first." Brendan shut the door and leaned on the wall.

Dusk felt his face turn red. Once more, he was being referenced as Dawn's boyfriend. "...A-Anyway, once we got out of the forest, the very first building we came across sent a mind-splitting jolt down my back. Any chance you...?"

"Yep. Got to be hard to sleep at night with that place there. I wonder what it is?"

"I have an idea..." Dusk took a seat on Dawn's bed and began to explain the story of the disgruntled man that they had the displeasure of meeting twice, then what Jun had said.

"...So what do you think it is?" Brendan asked once his story was done.

Dusk brought a fist into the air.

"...What? You think that's where the guy that smacked you back in Oreburgh ran to?"

"Along with all the wonderful friends of his we met back in Jubilife," Dusk added.

"So what's our plan, chief?" Brendan had his fingers crossed that Dusk would say what he wanted him to say.

"I want my Pokémon back...But we can't be idiots about the situation either. If something's wrong with May, we can't attack them. We'll be handicapped, and we can't afford that."

Brendan was thoroughly shocked that Dusk thought so rationally, but decided not to say anything about it. "All that May needs is a little chow. She gave all of the food she had to me back in the forest...You know how May has that problem of being so nice that she forgets about herself most of the time."

Dusk laughed. "You're lucky...Your girlfriend gives you food, mine drags me on stage and forces me to sing with her..."

It took Dusk to look at Brendan's raised eyebrow to realize what he had just said.

"...Go spoon feed your girlfriend!" Dusk stammered, pointing at the door.

Brendan threw his hands up into the air. "I will! I don't want to interrupt you and your wife anyway, Mr. Man!" he proclaimed before leaving. "Heaven only knows what I'd be interrupting..."

Dusk's face quickly flushed red. He jumped onto the top bunk, where Wizard was already sleeping. He never got the chance to put the day behind him, however; Dawn exited the bathroom before he could get himself to sleep.

"Ugh, you wouldn't believe how hard it is to take a shower with one arm trapped in a fiberglass cast...Where'd Brendan and May go?"

"Oh, May started feeling a little light headed, so she and Brendan went down to the cafeteria to get some food," Dusk explained, rolling around to face Dawn.

"Oh...Where are they sleeping tonight?"

"...I...don't know. Guess I never asked."

"Maybe I should go find them and tell them that they can sleep in here..." Dawn scratched her cast, hoping Dusk would notice her indirect question.

"What?! This room's small enough as it is, how are we supposed to fit in even more people?"

"Well, you have your blanket, don't you? We slept on that just fine last night! Please?" Dawn cutely begged. "They traveled through all of Eterna Forest, they have to be exhausted..."

Dusk couldn't believe his friend was trying to guilt trip him. "...Alright, fine, fine. But I'm staying on the bed!" He finally gave in.

"Great! I'll go tell them. Good night, Dusk!" Dawn dashed out their door and shut it behind her.

"Yeah, good...good..." Dusk yawned and rolled back over.

Dawn looked up and down the hallway. "_Um...Wait...Where's the cafeteria again?_" She decided to wander around randomly until she found it. She continued walking down the hallway, then turned down another one. "_I can't believe how intricate such a petit building is_..." she couldn't help but think about. Eventually, she found a sign that had her destination on it, printed in bold lettering.

She walked in the room and looked around. The cafeteria was huge, once again, considering the Center itself was actually pretty small. Dawn estimated fifteen benches, able to seat atleast six people each, were scattered across the room. Near a wall was a buffet-styled table with various foods in it, all extremely appetizing, made only more mouth-watering with the fact that it was free. Dawn was tempted to get some for herself, but knew that she was hyper enough as it was, and she needed to go to sleep soon. Instead, she spotted the two she was looking for in the otherwise empty room and walked up to them, unknowingly silently.

"...He also said that Jun told him they were wearing white--" Brendan was interrupted when Dawn's hand was put on his back.

Both of the Hoenn Trainers turned their heads. "Oh...H-Hi, Dawn..." Brendan was completely trapped. He didn't know when Dusk wanted to tell Dawn about their conversation, and definitely didn't want to be the one to blow it.

May gulped. "Wh-What's up, Dawn?"

"Oh, I just came by to tell you that, if you want, you can sleep with Dusk and me..." Her voice was hardly there. Her mind was lost in what Brendan had just said. "Did I hear you say something about Jun?"

The two shot a lightning fast glance at each other.

"Um...No...We said Chaaaan...Yeah, Chan! Jackie Chan! We were talking about how fake his movies are these days. Way better back in the 80's," Brendan covered smoothly.

"Really? Are you referring to Heart of Dragon?" Dawn questioned, lightly stroking her chin.

Brendan, once again, turned to May, then slowly back to Dawn. "Um...Yeah! Of course! That was one of his best."

"So," Dawn smiled brightly, having caught her prey. "What was your favorite part?"

"The part with...the dragon?" Brendan scanned the room nervously until he finally broke down in laughter. "You're good, Dawn. You're good."

Dawn ignored the compliment. "Dusk told me May felt light headed, so you and she came down here, but if you know about Jun, then Dusk must have told you, but he's still in bed..." Dawn analyzed. "Solution key, please?"

May closed her eyes and gripped her hands tightly around her glass of water. "I think it's time you tell her," she said, taking a drink.

"Yeah, alright...Look, May--"

"Dawn," May corrected, setting the glass back down on the table.

"Dawn, sorry. Um, anyway...Dusk thinks that the guy who took his Pokémon ran into one of the buildings in this Town, and he wants to go pay them a visit soon..." Brendan felt guilty for telling Dawn what Dusk didn't want her to know yet, but he was outnumbered two-to-one.

"...So Dusk wants his Pokémon back. I'm missing the plot twist. What about it?"

"Well, uh..." Brendan ran his hand through his white hair, which had gotten somewhat dirty in a slight mishap back in Eterna Forest. "Nothing, I guess," he laughed.

Dawn thought of something. "Er...You two are coming too, right?"

"Of course," May joined the conversation. "That's...actually the reason we had to get through Eterna Forest so fast, because Dusk asked us to..."

"Oh..." Dawn's voice was different than it was a second ago. It sounded crushed. "Brendan, could I possibly get a moment with May, please?"

"...Sure! Sure. I'll go get nice and comfy in that penthouse we got. I'll be in the room, May." Brendan kissed her on the head and walked out of the cafeteria.

May had to blush. It felt a little awkward to be kissed in front of a friend like that.

Dawn took Brendan's seat.

"Dawn, I'm sorry if we upset you somehow. You know that wasn't--"

"Do you approve of this?" Dawn interrupted, staring at her pink cast that was resting on the table.

"Hm?"

"Do you approve of this?" Dawn repeated. "Just...going in, guns 'a blazin'?"

May wiped her mouth off with a napkin before saying anything. "I have to admit that it's scary we'll be fighting on their turf...I mean, we'll be blind, basically. But we can't let that stop us. As you said, Dusk wants his friend back, and you can't blame him for that."

"No, I don't..." Dawn still didn't look up.

"You're not mad at Dusk, are you? For...telling us, but not telling you?"

"...I did kinda think we'd be a bit more open to each other on something like this," Dawn sighed. "I mean, we said we'd be more honest with each other from now on..."

"Oh, I feel terrible...If I had just kept my mouth shut, you wouldn't have even known..."

Dawn put her hand on May's back and faintly smiled at her. "Then you'd be lying to me. I'd expect something like this from Dusk, but not you."

"Thanks..." May was glad Dawn felt like they had an open friendship. "I still feel bad for selling Dusk out like that..."

"Don't be. We'll talk it over tomorrow, and I'm sure it'll be fine," Dawn assured.

"I hope so..." May picked a plastic fork up and attached some food to it. "So what did you want to talk to me about? You can ask me now, if you'd like."

"Oh!" Dawn immediately blushed and turned her head in the opposite direction. "Um...It's nothing! Forget it. So, do you feel better?"

May completely ignored the question. "You can tell me, Dawn. Please trust me..."

Dawn felt a little guilty after she said that. She turned her head back and looked at May. "I do trust you, May! I know you wouldn't tell anybody, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"I...don't really know if I can even admit it myself..." Dawn tapped her foot on the ground.

"I see..." May giggled. "Well, it's okay if you can't tell me yet. I understand." She returned to her food.

After almost ripping her own body in half from frustration, Dawn leaned over to May and whispered something into her ear. Her face turned a darker shade of red with every word.

May almost choked on her food, but she managed to swallow it. After recovering, she also blushed. "R-Really?"

Dawn, not sure if that was a positive reaction or not, closed her eyes and nodded.

-------------------------

"Well, she was going to find out sooner or later anyway."

Brendan had woke Dusk up and told him the story of what had happened. Dusk had got off of the bed and began spreading the blanket that he had brought with him on the floor for the Hoenn Trainers to sleep on. Brendan was leaning against the same wall he was before.

"Yeah, I know...Still, I figured you had some way to tell her without getting her freaked out. You know, like over a candle-light dinner or something."

Dusk ignored the latter part. "What do you mean? Why would she freak out?"

"Well, you know how Dawn is. She isn't one to be waking up every morning, hoping she could put dirt under her eyes, grab two machine guns for each hand, and go commando on the nearest crime syndicate. That's what we're here for," Brendan stated.

"Wonder where they are, anyway..." Dusk changed the subject while climbing up the ladder to his bed.

"Dunno...May didn't have that much on their plate. Ah, women. Can't live with them, can't...um..."

"Oh, here, by the way..." Once on top of the bunkbed, Dusk shot his deflated, rental pillow on the ground. "Sleeping without that thing can't be any worse than sleeping with it."

"Gee, thanks." Brendan laid down on the blanket, moving the pillow over to where May was going to be sleeping next to him. "If you hear any moaning, don't look down."

"If I hear any moaning, I'm going to wake Wizard up and tell him to give whoever's on the floor a rousing good morning." Dusk laid down himself and started petting Wizard, who had been sleeping on his bed for a few hours now. "Actually, I'll probably tell him to do that whether I hear moaning or not."

A string of quietness danced throughout the room for awhile, but Brendan finally spoke up.

"Dusk, tell me the truth, just between us...You got anything for Dawn?"

"...What? No, why?" Dusk replied sternly. "Is it her birthday soon?"

Brendan wanted to get up and throw Dusk into a wall, but calmed himself. "Let's try this another way," he announced before, very loudly, clearing his throat.

Finally getting the actual question, Dusk almost fell off of the bed in shock. "WHAT?!"

"Just curious..." Brendan added thoughtfully, a very odd smirk on his face.


	9. Bringing the Galaxy Down to Earth, Pt1

The next morning came. All four had come out of the room to see that all the karaoke equipment from the night before was completely gone. They set it out of their minds and asked the doctor for their Pokémon back. Finally, they started walking in the direction of the warehouse, which was their target.

"So, what did you and Dawn talk about last night in the cafeteria?" Brendan asked in a quiet enough voice so Dusk and Dawn wouldn't hear it.

"Just, you know, girl things..." May replied shyly. "What about you and Dusk?"

"Girl things."

May slapped Brendan on the elbow.

"Ow! I was just sayin'...!" Brendan rubbed his poor elbow.

It was only 6:14 by the time they neared their destination, which was good. Since it was early, not many people were awake. If anybody saw four strangers walking into some random building, there might be unnecessary trouble. Of course, if they were to go in and never come back out...

"You okay, Dusk?" Dawn asked when they set foot on the large parking lot to the building.

"...I want my Chimchar back," Dusk replied with hardly any emotion getting in the way.

"Well, you know that we got your back," Dawn proclaimed, tightening her scarf. "Hey, Dusk, I really was kind of wondering something, though. Why...Why didn't you tell me that you thought one of these buildings was where those guys went?"

Dusk lowered his beret, causing Wizard to fall off of it and continue walking with them himself. "I--Sorry, Dawn. I know I should have told you."

"It's fine. Just please don't do that again, okay?"

Dusk put his hand in front of Dawn, stopping her, and causing a backup of the entire team.

"What's wrong, Dusk?" May asked once they caught up to him.

"That." Dusk pointed at the building.

On the upper-right side of the building, a security camera was scanning the entire parking lot. Dusk had seen it a little ways back, but didn't bother to mention it until they had gotten closer.

"Great. Sorry, guys, I didn't bring my Camera-B-Gone. Now what?" Brendan wondered, struggling to come up with an idea.

"Wizard," Dusk bent down on a knee to get closer to his friend. "Can you give that thing just a light shock? Just enough to disrupt it for a few seconds?"

"Pika!" The Pokémon nodded in agreement, then took a couple hops forward. After thinking for a moment of how to purposely hold back an attack, which was a skill that he wasn't used to, Wizard launched an almost invisible beam of lightning straight at the machine. It began short-circuiting. Wizard rubbed the back of his head and apologized for overdoing it. "Pika pika chu..."

"Don't worry about it." Dusk's attention returned to the team. "Let's get in there!" He dashed off towards the door.

Unable to move, Brendan lifted his finger and pointed at Dusk. "...Did Dusk just have a good idea?"

"We shouldn't keep him waiting." Dawn took off after him.

"You seem surprised," May noted. "You shouldn't underestimate him, Brendan. Especially when he's fighting for a close friend like this."

"Oh, right. He's never really told us which Pokémon of his got stolen, has he?" he asked, mostly to change the subject.

May shook her head. "Still, it doesn't matter. Right now, we have to go help rescue it!" Her nimble legs carried her over to the door faster than the other two.

Brendan smirked. "_Like I'd have it some other way?_"

When Brendan reached the group, they barged through the door and let themselves in. There wasn't much in it. A dead-end was to their right, and a long wall in front of them separated the building into two parts. On the wall were computers, all of them on, running various scans that were impossible to understand. To their left was the hallway which led to the only way to get around the massive wall. As the hallway extended, the darkness began to cover it up.

High-heels could suddenly be heard clacking down the hallway. Eventually, a tall, female figure stepped out in front of them. She was as tall as Brendan, but had demonic red hair. She had a white dress on with a black shirt underneath it, which extended all the way out to her wrists. Her dark pants stretched all the way down to her feet, making the on-lookers wonder how she wasn't tripping over them all the time. "We greatly appreciate your interest in joining Team Galactic, but unfortunately, we will have to charge you for that security camera. Of course, that'll all be under the table. No harm done."

"Team Galactic? Let me guess. You give presents to all the underprivileged children, right?" Brendan reached for the side of his belt, where most males seem keep their Pokéballs.

"Hmm...Something like that. Unfortunately, I'm tired of running through the explanation all the time, so I'll just let you read over the license when you sign up," she smiled. "Oh, dear, I almost forgot. Call me Commander Mars. I'm in charge of the Eterna City branch, and I must say that I'm quite eccentric you decided to join us, rather than that much less useful Veilstone division."

"We're not joining you..." Dusk notified under his breath.

"What's that? Oh, then did you come to donate your Pokémon? We'll appreciate that just as greatly." Once more, a devilish smile climbed onto her face.

"We're going to shut you down..." Dusk said, again, keeping his volume low.

Mars sighed and turned to walk away. "Oh. Then you're still on the other side."

Growling could be heard from each of them. Especially Wizard.

"You know. The side that still thinks what we do is evil. This world..." Mars laughed before continuing. "This world is plagued by evil. And that's what we're here for. When we finish our studies of Pokémon, Team Galactic will put everything in its place, creating a brand new world where we can all live peacefully. No more starvation, no more war, no more slavery...And to think, you so-called goody-two-shoes are going to miss out on that. I really do like your styles, too, you know. Especially the cute pair in the front."

Dawn and Dusk blushed, though they didn't physically react to it.

"Yet, here we are. If you're not going to join Team Galactic, and you're not going to donate your Pokémon, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I really would hate it if I had to remove you by force." She found time to chortle. "Unless, of course, you'd like me to."

"Free the Pokémon," Dusk demanded somewhat silently.

Mars genuinely didn't hear him. "I beg your pardon?"

"Free the Pokémon," he repeated in a higher tone. "Every single one you've stolen. Give them back."

"Oh, no...See, now I'm starting to dislike you. Back when you didn't raise your voice to me, you were so cute. Especially with that adorable hat of yours. Now you're becoming annoying. You should really take a lesson from your girlfriend and learn to keep quiet."

"Dusk isn't annoying!" Dawn chimed in. "I'd sat that an organization that goes out of their way to steal somebody else's Pokémon is more frustrating than he is."

Dusk scratched his cheek, unsure how much of a compliment that actually was.

"Oh, no...Now you had to go and ruin yourself. The only one left is the tall girl in the back. On your way back home, would you mind teaching your three friends to not speak out so loudly to others? Thank you so much, dear. Tell them that it's so unnecessary." She began walking away, the thick blackness covering her.

May huffed in frustration. "_I'd like to tell you a few things first, windbag..._" She folded her arms and turned to the leader. "What should we do, Dusk?"

Wizard's ears perked high into the air. "Pika?"

"What's up, Wizard?" Dusk wondered, looking down at his Pokémon.

"Pi ka...chu..." he replied, still sounding out the area. "PIKA!" He suddenly pointed in the direction of the hallway and quickly got into a battle-ready position.

A few seconds later, footsteps could be heard to the human ears as well as Wizard's. They got louder as time progressed. It wasn't very long until four figures could be seen approaching.

May gasped. "They're the people who attacked us in Jubilife!"

"Dusk, sometimes I hate it when you're right," Brendan said, referencing his correct guess about this place.

"Sorry. I call 'em like I see 'em. Ready, Wizard?"

"Pika-chu!" he yelped quickly as sparks started erupting from his rose-colored cheeks.

"Wait. Change of plans," Brendan interrupted.

"What?!" Dusk jerked back at his partner.

"Leave this to me and May. You two find a way to get past them and keep going after that snob."

Dusk looked at May. She nodded to the spontaneous plan and reached for Blaziken's Pokéball. His attention then turned to Dawn, who was looking back at him. The expression on her face told Dusk that she'd do whatever he did. He turned back to the approaching guards. "Just don't let me find you trapped in a circle of these goons when we get back, alright?"

"Don't worry. Last time was a fluke. I promise you that you ain't going to see that again." Brendan turned to May and spoke a bit quieter to prevent the guards from overhear them. "We need to give these two a chance to get by them first. Then we can make fun of those ugly suits."

She replied with a nod.

"Wizard!" Dusk held his arm out, provoking the Pokémon to perch on his shoulder.

He complied with a wide smile, gripping onto Dusk's beret with his tiny paws.

"Guys ready?" Brendan asked.

Dusk and Dawn nodded.

"Right. Go, Sceptile! Shoot a Mud Sport at the ground!" Brendan launched a Pokéball, revealing his starter Pokémon for the third time.

Upon coming out of the ball, it immediately shot a string of mud out of its mouth at the approaching guards. Coupled with their boots' terrible traction, they began sliding on it.

Dawn and Dusk were off-put at the cartoon-inspired trick. It was equally strange to see not only Brendan thinking of it, but them falling for it. They shook their heads back to reality and dashed off, waving to the frustrated guards as they ran by them.

May blinked. "Well, that's...one way to do it..."

The Sinnoh-region Trainers reached the end of the hallway and took a sharp corner, followed by another one. They were on the opposite side of the wall they had just been on. Straight ahead of them, the hallway continued. To their left was a computer room. As could be imagined, it had plenty of computers, running seemingly the same things the previous computers had been. They paid little attention to it and continued running, but were stopped when the lights turned on, instantly illuminating the entire building. Smoke started pouring in from the computer room at an alarming rate.

"Listen...Is that a voice I hear?" A female voice rang out through the room, though she couldn't be seen behind the thick smoke.

"It's speaking to me loud and clear..." A male voice, under the same circumstances, replied.

"Floating on the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace..."

"...Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!"

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet..."

"...When everything's worse, our work is complete!"

"Jessie!" the female posed.

"And it's James!" the male posed as well.

"Putting the do-gooders in their place..."

"Team Rocket..."

"We're in your face!" they both ended.

Dusk and Dawn stared on into smoke blankly, not having a clue what was going on. "Houston, we've hit comedy relief," Dusk said, causing Dawn to fail at stifling a laugh.

"James!" Jessie scolded. "Kill the smoke! The smoke was supposed to disappear so we could see their reaction!"

"Hmm...It seems as though it's broken..." he replied thoughtfully.

"Your head is broken! Ugh, give me that thing..."

A slight yelp, followed by a loud crash could be heard. Soon, the heavy fog began to thin, eventually disappearing. The fog machine was laying on the ground to the side, sparking, nearly ready to blow.

The female was revealed to be wearing a small, white coat that didn't even reach her belly. A black undershirt was behind it, though it also didn't extend downwards very far. Her lower body was covered with white pants, ending with black boots. The only thing that distinguished her character was inhumanly long red hair, curling through the air, and ending at her lower back. The male was dressed much the same way, though he had an actual shirt on. His hair was violet, and only fell as low as his shoulders.

"...So..." Dusk coughed. So many sarcastic remarks were running through his mind, he couldn't decide which one to use in time.

"So what, you little twerp?" Jessie put her hands on her waist and leaned forward, getting closer to Dusk. "Mars said to leave, so you're going to do it!"

"But didn't you just say something about Team Rocket? I thought Mars said Team Galac--" Dawn was interrupted.

"Oh, it's a sad tale indeed..." Jessie pulled a handkerchief out of nowhere.

James sighed. "You just had to get her going again, didn't you..."

The woman straightened up. "Fine. I'll give them the short version. Team Rocket got disbanded after...an incident in Johto. Another bunch of lovely coconuts rose up not so long ago, and we offered to help, but, you see, nobody could come up with a new motto, sooo..."

"...So, we're basically just rehashing an old one," James finished.

"Right. So we reached an agreement that we help them, and we keep...our...Huh?" Jessie's voice trailed off as she heard what sounded like pounding in the distance.

Blazing fast footsteps came flooding around the corner. It didn't take them long to find their way up to Dusk and Dawn.

"Hey, guys!" a familiar face greeted.

"Umm...Jun! What...are you doing here?" Dawn questioned, slightly afraid to ask, but deciding to anyway.

"Oh, well, kinduva long story. But I tracked you two down, and found you here! I just wanted to apologize for not showing up at the PokéCenter last night. I got slightly sidetracked with the carnival again. Hahaha! Well, anyway, what's up? Why are you in here? Kinda dumpy! Oh, hey! Those are the two people that asked me to come find you before! Hey, guys, what's up?" Jun rattled out at his regular unusual speed.

Dusk and Dawn simultaneously gasped, jerking their heads back to look at Team Rocket. "Them?!" Dusk added.

Jessie laughed maniacally. "Yes, us. This gullible twerp was too easy to fool. We knew that you would be coming to look for your stupid Pokémon that we stole, so we sent this scrub to find out what Pokémon you had, so we could counter them. Then the idiot took off before we could finish telling him what to do. And speaking of that carnival, I'll have you know that Team Rocket takes great offense by that Meowth-shooting game!"

"She's right. We cried about it for weeks," James contributed.

"But how did you know about that game? The festival's only been going on for two days now..." Dawn wondered.

"...We happen to have inside information, so shut up, you little brat!" he fired back, bound determined to win this argument.

"Any chance you would just move? We kinda have to get back there..." Dusk mentioned.

"Of course not," Jessie said arrogantly. "If we were going to let you go in the back room, we would have never wasted money on that smoke machine."

"We? It was taken out of my paycheck..." James pouted.

"Oh, stop your whining! And stop playing the role of the victim! That's what the Pikachu's for!" Jessie yelled.

"...Pika?" Wizard turned his head, surprised by the random mention.

"HEY! I got an idea!" Jun practically shouted. He signaled for his two friends to huddle up. "Dusk, bro, if you need to get back there, Dawn and I can hold them back!"

Dusk thought for a minute. He really didn't want to take on a bigshot of a corporation like this himself. Chances are that she'd overpower him simply by using stolen Pokémon. At the same time, he didn't want to waste time battling these two. "Dawn? What do you think?"

"These two are about as bright as a dead flashlight. If you want to get back there and end this yourself, it won't be a problem." Again, Dawn had that look in her eye that told Dusk she'd do whatever he told her to.

"...Alright. Thanks, Dawn, Jun."

"Excuuuse me, but if you three are done, it's about time we teach you a lesson," Jessie warned.

James lifted a Pokéball up. "We got the schoolbooks and everything."

"Yeah, we're done, but we just want to say one last thing to you..." Jun shifted his eyes toward the fog machine. "Here's smoke in your eyes! Torterra, use Razor Leaf!" He also raised a Pokéball into the air, releasing a Pokémon.

Dawn did the same. "Charmy, Water Gun!"

Torterra's heavy face and aggressive cry only made its appearance scarier than it already was. Piplup's cuteness hardly countered it. Both Pokémon aimed their attacks at the short-circuiting machine, causing an explosion to cover the entire area.

James fell to his knees. "No...No! If you were going to blow it up, you could have warned us...I would have put bottlerockets near it to make it look all cool..."

"Shut up!" Jessie smacked him clear across the face. "Forget about that thing! We got three twerps to--" Jessie looked up to only see two of their opponents. "Wait...One, two...Weren't there three of you just a second ago?"

Jun and Dawn stared at them, grins on both of their faces.

As soon as the first crack of the explosion started, Dusk and Wizard had bolted down the hall. By the time they noticed him, he was already well past Team Rocket.

The feminine Rocket growled. "Stupid twerp! Seviper, don't let him get--" Jessie couldn't finish before Jun stopped her.

"Anh-anh-anh!" He waved his index finger in the air, then used it to point at his gargantuan Pokémon, who was impatiently shuffling its feet on the ground. "How about a dance, m'lady?"

--------------------------

Dusk reached the end of the hallway, took a turn, and found himself in a room. Monitors were plastered all across the walls, all of them revealing something different on them. Security camera data, Pokémon stats, even things like the outside temperature ran across all of them. A lone figure was standing in the middle of the room with her back turned to Dusk.

"So, allow me to recap. I send guards after you, you dodge them. I send those blubbering idiots to attack you, again, you get past them. If you wanted me to apologize for calling you annoying, you could have just said that, and we wouldn't have gone through all of this trouble."

"That depends on your definition of trouble, Mars. I was having fun, myself."

"I'm sorry, did I stutter earlier? Perhaps I did...But I prefer to be called Commander Mars. It's so much more intriguing, isn't it?" The woman finally turned around to face Dusk.

"Here's how this is going to go down. First, I'm going to make you pay for stealing my Pokémon. Then I'm going to make you pay for almost killing my friends back in Jubilife. Finally, I'm going to pay you to fire those two idiots back there," Dusk demanded.

"Ah! I see you've really thought this through. Unfortunately, the only one I can agree with you on is the last one. I never wanted them, anyway. The Boss did." She brushed through her hair with her soft hand.

"The Boss? Somebody's above you?"

"Oh, yes...I'm generally not allowed to talk about such things, but since it seems you want your life to end early, I don't see much harm. I'm actually only third-in-command of Team Galactic. Second's at Veilstone, and the Boss...Well, let's just say he's doing pretty freakin' good right about now. At that, why don't we stake the rules to our match?"

Dusk was caught off-guard from the sudden change of subject. "Rules? I always thought the point of being a bad guy was that there were no rules to deal with."

"I told you before, dear, we're not bad guys. We're simply trying to help everything, that's all," Marks smirked, content with her answer. "Anyway, how many Pokémon do you have? Five? Six?"

Dusk frowned. "Two, since a pack of dogs decided to steal one from me."

"What? Two?" Mars laughed. "Ah, fine, very well...We'll each use two Pokémon, then. We'll keep the stakes simple. If I win, I get to keep the Pokémon you use. If you win, I'll quietly leave. That's all fair, right?" Mars grabbed a Pokéball that was laying on a convenient table and enlarged it.

"New idea. If I win, you set all the Pokémon free."

Mars perked up. "Oh? Is that a counter-offer? Or to be an addition?"

"Addition," he answered plainly. "Don't worry, I plan on savoring every moment of kicking your ragtag battalion out of Eterna."

"Ooh! You're so determined. I hate to interrupt our battle, but are you absolutely positive you won't join Team Galactic?" Mars began bouncing the Pokéball up and down in her hand.

Dusk reached for a Pokéball on his belt.

"You might be exactly what we need to get our mission wrapped up even sooner..." Mars stroked her chin. "How about this. If I win, I get to keep the Pokémon you use during the battle...And you have to join Team Galactic and help us in our mission!"

Dusk cringed. "You'll have to get one of those suits on my dead body. Can we start yet?"

"Oh, I love this part. Zubat, go!"

"Let's show our fearless leader a good time, Moonite."

Nobody moved for a few seconds. Pokémon and Trainer alike were staring at each other, estimating how strong their opponent truly was.

"Cute Pokémon you got there. What's its name? Moonite?" Mars shouted in a bit unusually high volume.

Dusk didn't reply.

"Don't worry, Moonite...When I become your master, I'll make sure to give you a better name. Zubat, Wing Attack!"

"And when you get kicked out of this building, I'll hold the door open for you to make sure it won't hit you on the way out. Moonite, get out of there, and counter with Ember!"

Zubat swooped in towards Dusk's Cyndaquil and attempted to slash it with the side of its wing, but Moonite managed to dodge in time. It retaliated by firing multiple bursts of flames out of its mouth, straight at the opposing Pokémon. The flying fireballs seemed to home in on their target, crisping it harshly.

With round one completed, both Pokémon returned to their respective Trainers. Moonite was shamelessly smirking at Zubat, finding amusement in its difficulty to keep flight.

"Huh. Judging by my Zubat's burns, it looks like that thing's Ember attack is quite powerful. You must have trained it well," Mars complimented.

Dusk, once more, didn't give a response. He decided not to mention that this is actually the first time he's ever used Moonite in a battle.

"...Hm. Tough crowd. Zubat, show 'em what your Leech Life attack looks like!"

A crooked smile grew wide on Dusk's face, though he attempted to hide it. "Good move."

"It was, wasn't it?" she replied cooly, unsure if that was a genuine praise or not.

The Flying- and Poison-type Pokémon once more dove toward Moonite. Inches before hitting its target, Zubat did a quick loop in the air, attempting to psych-out any attack that was launched at it during the process. Of course, Moonite hadn't received any orders, so it didn't move. Only patiently waited. Finally, the bat leeched its teeth into Cyndaquil's back, causing the Pokémon to scream in agony.

Dusk had to stop himself from laughing. "I win."

In a response to the pain, the fire on Moonite's back quickly ignited, absolutely torching Zubat. The life-sucking process quickly stopped as Zubat yanked its teeth back out, but it was too late. Moonite lowered its flames, and Zubat slammed into the ground, burnt and KO'd. Moonite returned to its Trainer's side.

Wizard giggled, realizing where Dusk had learned that trick from. "Pika, chu."

Mars recalled her fainted Pokémon, then started clapping at a medium pace. "Impressive. Simply impressive. Not only did you just defeat Zubat in two attacks, but you gave me a bit of a scare myself. I admit to forgetting about Cyndaquil's spinal flames. Here's hoping you have a few more tricks up your sleeve, because that one isn't going to work anymore." She shot the Pokéball back on the table where she had gotten it from. It rolled on the table and eventually fell off of it. She shrugged it off and returned to the battle.

The Galactic Commander reached into her sleeve and tugged on something attached to her wrist. It finally came out from under the long sleeve that had been covering it. The object was a strange metal device, containing a single Pokéball that it was tightly gripping. She tapped a button on it, causing it to release its grip, and took the Pokéball from it.

"I bet airport security loves you," Dusk commented.

"Airports?" Mars laughed. "Who needs to fly on a plane when you can use an Abra to warp wherever you need to go?"

"Probably stole that one, too..." Dusk accused under his breath.

Mars was too far away to hear what he had said, so she returned to her previous hobby. "Oh, precious...I know you don't like to battle much, but this Trainer seems awfully stubborn, and needs to be put in his place. Could you please do me a small favor and help me accomplish that?" After her conversation with the Pokéball, it opened up, exposing a flash of light to the room. Out of the Pokéball appeared a chubby cat-like Pokémon.

"**Purugly, the Tiger Cat Pokémon. Purugly cinches its waist with its own tails in order to appear intimidating. Though seemingly large, most Purugly weigh no more than one-hundred pounds.**" Dusk tapped a few more buttons on the Pokédex before putting it back into his pocket.

"Congratulations! You got your Purugly lesson for the day. And tell whoever's on the other side of that box that my Purugly takes offense by that last comment. It happens to watch its weight carefully."

"I'll assume that it's safe to say that it didn't get that from its Trainer?" Dusk wondered.

"Aren't you smart. I'll have you know that these clothes just have thick material. It's a safety precaution, idiot," Mars counterattacked.

"Or, more likely, it's to contain all them cookies that nobody sees you eat, am I right?"

"Pika!" Wizard added with extra energy.

Mars's voice turned dark. "I hope you're having fun. I really do. Because after I rip those Pokémon away from you, I'll remember every last word that you just said."

"So you're going to forget about them until then?" Dusk had to physically bite his lip to prevent laughter.

"Boy, you're an annoying one!" the woman roared.

Dusk shrugged nonchalantly. "I try."

"Purugly, wipe that horrible grin off his face! Murder that fleabag with Faint Attack!" Mars commanded.

"Hey, so the battle did get to continue before I fell asleep! That was close. Ready to roll, Moonite?"

"Quil!" Moonite activated the fire on its back once more to intimidate its opponent.

Purugly disappeared from sight. Not even Wizard could sense where it had gone to. From thin air, it appeared behind Moonite and gave it a solid slash with its claw, creating three deep cuts in the Cyndaquil's back. Moonite quickly jumped forward to escape a further attack. Purugly was now next to Dusk while Moonite was closer to Mars.

"_That thing's fast_...Moonite, slam it with Flame Wheel!" Dusk couldn't help but be a little worried. If those three cuts were deeper than they looked, Moonite might not be able to get a string of fire going long enough to finish out its order. Nevertheless, he had to try.

"Cynda..." It took a deep breath, then started running for Purugly. "QUIL!" It released blazing heat from its mouth, but not at its opponent. Rather, itself. Its body having caught on fire, it jumped into the air and started somersaulting at an amazing rate. Eventually, it crashed into Purugly's face. The cat, however, didn't even looked fazed when the move was finished.

Dusk adjusted his standing position a bit. "_What the--?!_" he thought, though the confused and angry expression on his face spoke volumes.

"Oh, that was such a nice try. Now if only your talking box told you something useful about the Pokémon, like its special Ability. Any Fire-type attack done to it gets its power cut in half. I was going to tell Purugly to dodge, but I decided to save the air for something else," she chuckled.

"_Oh, if only you knew what my 'talking box' told me_..."

"Purugly, Screech, then Slash!"

Purugly let out a massive sound wave, causing everybody in the room to flinch, spare Mars, who was somehow not affected by it. Even a few of the monitors broke from the extreme volume. Moonite couldn't take the disturbance any longer. It sat down and covered its ears with its front paws, trying to block out any of the sound that it could. While it was defenseless, Purugly dropped the Screech and stormed towards Moonite, once more, giving it a solid Slash with its knife-sharp claw. Moonite rolled even closer to Mars, dangerously close to fainting.

"_Time to get that music pumping_," Dusk thought to himself as he watched Cyndaquil.

Moonite suddenly began glowing red, and eventually, a thin wall of fire surrounded its entire body.

Mars smiled. "Blaze, right? Not bad, but even with it, Purugly still blocks out most of the damage from Fire-based moves."

"But it ain't gonna hurt. Moonite, let's shoot a Smokescreen at it! Then Flamethrower! End it with Quick Attack!" Dusk rattled out, catching Mars off guard. The long chain caused her to forget to tell Purugly how to dodge it.

"QUILL!!" Moonite opened its mouth, releasing black smoke across the entire arena. Some of it even floated back into the hallway.

"_Who needs a machine that creates smoke, Team Rocket?_" Dusk smirked.

Cyndaquil continued. After filling the room up with smoke, blinding every combatant including itself, Moonite fired a Flamethrower in the direction Purugly was last in. The creature screaming in pain was a good enough indication that the move had hit its target. Moonite had no plans of quitting, however. It dashed off into the same direction at an incredible speed, leaping up into the air, and tackling Purugly to the ground.

Minutes passed, and between the vents on the ceilings and the air itself eating it, the Smokescreen disappeared. Moonite was standing in its rightful place, next to its Trainer, and Purugly was on the ground, unconscious.

Mars grinned disturbingly at her rival. "Gotcha."

Dusk gasped as Purugly appeared behind Moonite, yet again, cutting it deep with its nails. Moonite tried jumping away, but it just didn't have the strength. Purugly gave it a sharp Tackle, sending it flying into the air. It came back down in the middle of the battlefield, slamming into the hard floor. It twitched slightly.

Dusk recalled his fainted Pokémon. "We got to figure out how to get around Double Team, don't we?" He attached the ball to his belt and turned to Wizard. "It's you and me, buddy."

"Pika!" Wizard jumped into the fray, ready to defend his Trainer.

Mars blushed. "It's so cute!"

A sharp pang surged through Dusk's spine. Normally, he'd take something like that as a compliment to his Pokémon. For some reason, it became difficult when it was given by third-in-command of a criminal organization. He tried to forget she even said it and pulled his Pokédex back out, again, aiming it at his opponent's Pokémon.

"That thing again? What, did you forget what it said earlier?"

"Yep, that's it," Dusk mumbled out as he pressed a few more buttons on the device. "_It's only got about half of its vitality left...Moonite did wonders on that thing, for getting his attack cut in half_. C'mon, Wizard. We can do this!" He slipped the contraption back into the same pocket as before. "Agility, let's go!"

"Pika...Pi! Pi! Pi!" Wizard started running circles around Purugly. Quite literally. He was running so fast, it appeared that there were multiple Pikachu right behind him.

"If you wanted to show how fast your Pikachu can run, it's called a Pokémon Contest...Purugly, Scratch it!"

Suddenly, Wizard stopped. All of them.

"What?!" Mars shouted, stunned.

Dusk snickered for the first time in his life. "You're not the only one that can milk Double Team."

Surrounding Purugly were a dozen Pikachu, every one of them more eager than the last. "Pi, ka, chu..." they all taunted in unison.

"Ugh..." Mars growled. "Purugly! Faint Attack! Pick them off one by one if you have to!"

"No chance. Wizard, blow a Thunderbolt straight across the battlefield!" Dusk demanded to the group.

"Pi...ka..." Sparks flew from every Pikachu's cheeks. The air grew intense as so much electricity was being stored in a single room. "CHU!!" Twelve different lightning bolts from twelve different directions surged through the middle of the room, frying the trapped kitty. It hit the ground with a thud.

Dusk grunted. "Fool me once...Wizard, jump in the air, then hit the ground with a Quick Attack!"

The Purugly clone that had been electrocuted disappeared into smoke, while the real one appeared and attempted to grab a Wizard in its claws. However, the Pikachu had jumped into the air before hand, causing the cat to miss. Wizard countered by doing as his Trainer said, and the clone Pikachu that Purugly tried attacking smacked it in the forehead by an aerial Quick Attack.

"Mm..." Mars brought her hand up to her mouth and chuckled. "You're good. You're positive that you won't join us, hm? I tell you, there's not much doubt that you could crown my rank. Who knows? Maybe even get to second-in-command..."

Dusk folded his arms. "...I know sign language."

The Commander blinked at her opponent. "I'm sorry?"

"I know sign language. I'm assuming you're deaf, because no matter how many times I repeat myself, you keep asking me the same question. If you'd like, I can answer it with sign language."

Mars growled to herself. "Save your hilarious sarcasm for when you go on tour. Purugly, you ready?"

Purugly jumped next to its Trainer. Wizard disposed of his clones and did the same. They were both panting heavily, though their gaze was never taken off of each other.

Dusk dropped his arms back to his sides. "_Wizard's beat...He held that Double Team up for too long_. You gonna be alright, buddy?"

"Pika," Wizard replied as confidently as he could.

"_That Pikachu's good...To think, I might actually lose_...Purugly! Fly in for a Scratch attack!" Mars demanded.

Purugly steadied itself, then jumped through the air, claw first. Wizard dodged to his left, causing Purugly to face-plant into the ground. Wizard quickly followed up with a Tackle to his opponent's side, causing the cat to roll over a few times. The Pikachu could have easily blasted it into a wall had he been at full power, but in his tired condition, Wizard just couldn't get the strength necessary for that.

Dusk scanned the battlefield, only for his eye to catch a security camera hanging from the wall. He began laughing. "So, you really want to know if I have any more tricks left, huh?"

Mars took a step back. Though she did indirectly ask him if he had anything else planned, she was hoping he'd take it rhetorically. "_..._Bite me, brat," she mumbled under her breath.

"Wizard! Listen up, buddy. You got to give it all you got! Skull Bash Purugly into that wall!" Dusk pointed to the same wall Wizard had already Tackled Purugly towards.

"Pika!" He nodded in agreement, then began charging up. "Piiiiiikaaaaa..."

"Purugly, you got to get out of there!" Mars chopped through the air with her arm. "Jump!"

"Even better! Wizard, angle 130 degrees upwards and fire!"

Mars gasped. "_Wh-Where's this coming from?! Who is this kid?_"

The stage was set. Purugly got off the ground and leapt high in the air. Wizard, however, had other plans, and intercepted the Pokémon with a specially-aimed Skull Bash attack. Having much more power than the Tackle had a moment ago, Purugly was unable to react, and was sent blasting into the wall, slightly below the ceiling, that Dusk had precisely wanted. It slid down the wall and slammed into the ground, severely injured.

"We get us a flashy finish or die trying. Wizard, shoot a Thundershock at the base of the security camera!"

"Chu?" Wizard was, at first, curious what his Trainer meant, but soon spotted his target. He released a gentle surge of electricity at the machine, causing it to snap off of its handle and fall down on Purugly. It bounced off the cat's head and skidded away a few inches.

Mars blinked. "...Th-That's your big move?" She let out a somewhat relaxed smile. "Oh no, now you got me all terrified. I simply can't win now."

"Don't worry. There was no way you were going to win this battle at all. Wizard, Thunderbolt the security camera! Give it everything you've got!"

Team Galactic's Commander audibly gasped, which was something that Dusk found amusement in. After a second of accepting the unique strategy, she could do nothing but lower her head and smile.

"CHU!!" Wizard launched a much stronger bolt of lightning at the machine the second time. Dusk hated seeing him waste so much energy, but knew that it'd be better to use too much than not enough.

The camera blinked temporarily. It barely held itself for a second before too much power caused it to completely explode. Being right next to the mechanical destruction, the injured Purugly passed out.

"Good game, Commander," Dusk smirked. He inserted his hands into his pockets and made his way over to the tired Wizard. "You alright, buddy?"

As much as he wanted to, Wizard couldn't share in the celebration. He was also very weak, which caused him to hit the ground. He tried as hard as he could to lift himself up, but his tiny yellow hands just couldn't do it.

Dusk decided to throw a party later. He bent down to pick his fragile partner in his hands, but he couldn't stand back up. An arm was placed on his shoulder, keeping him in his position.

"You did good, kid. It really is too bad you won't join us. Here." Mars let Dusk stand back up as her hand disappeared into her coat pocket. Dusk was expecting to see his Pokéball come out of it. Instead, she pulled out a remote control, which was promptly given to the victor.

He accepted it in one hand, while still holding Wizard in the other. "And this would be...?"

"Hit that button, and this entire building goes up. Bombs were rigged up all around this dump for the sole purpose of exterminating any bugs, should we have ever needed to. That's what you want, right? To stop us?"

"That was admittedly more of a bonus, Commander, but..." Dusk stared at the toy he had just received.

She gave a single laugh. "No use calling me that anymore. Doubt I'll have that title once word of this gets around."

"Hold on a minute. There's no denying that making your entire warehouse blow up will bring me plenty of satisfaction, but let's get back to the reason I'm even here. Where are the Pokémon?"

She turned away from him. "I got bad news for you, kid. No Pokémon are kept here."

"So...In other words, you knew that you couldn't hold up your end of the bargain. You just decided to play along for the giggles."

"That's the gist of it, sure," Mars agreed. She hit a button on the collar of her shirt. "All units in Eterna sector, retreat. I repeat, fall back. We're getting out of here." Her voice echoed on multiple loudspeakers that laid about the entire building's ceiling. There couldn't have possibly been a soul that didn't hear the message.

"Give me and my men fifteen minutes to get out of here. Or...if you don't, that's understandable too, I guess," Mars laughed at herself after realizing she had just begged the opponent for forgiveness. She began walking away, but stopped without turning her head around. "If you really want to find your Pokémon, head to Veilstone. Maybe my sister can help you." She sighed. "You know something, kid? I actually...had a bit of fun here. How about you and I do this again sometime...hm?" She smirked at Dusk's silence. After a moment, she began walking towards the only exit to the room once more. "I'll see you around." She walked down the hallway and disappeared out of sight.

Dusk wasn't sure what to feel. "_Did I...just make friends with my worst enemy?_" He shook his head, only to be reminded of the exhausted Pikachu in his arm. He quickly slipped the remote control into another pocket and dashed off. When he got to the hallway, Dawn and Jun were the only two in his visual range. Mars and Team Rocket had seemingly vanished.

"Dusk, what's going on? Why did everybody leave?" Dawn asked once her friend reached her.

Dusk's running slowed to a walk as he joined his friends. "Not alot of time to explain right now. We got to get my Pokémon back to the Center. Let's just say we're two for two."

Dawn and Jun looked at each other as Dusk walked by, trying to figure out what he meant by that. They gave up and tailed him.

"Holy crap, guys! This is the pace you travel at?!" Jun scolded, absolutely shocked. "This is, like...walking!"

They continued through the maze and met with their last two friends. May was holding her left arm sleeve with her opposite hand. It appeared she was injured, but it was hidden behind her gloved hand. Brendan had a few scratch marks on his face, but had decided that helping May was more important than attending to his own wounds.

"First person to tell me what's going on here gets a free cracker, straight from the Jubilife Pokémon Center," Brendan bargained, turning his head upwards to look at the nearing trio of friends.

"No time. PokéCenter. Now." Dusk's walking speed didn't change at all. He continued marching on by his Hoenn friends until he exited the door.

May and Brendan looked at each other before following the other three, who had already slipped out of the building.

"Dusk, I can't help but feel that something's up...What happened back there?" Dawn asked.

He didn't reply with the answer. "Are the others out of the building?" he asked, not being bothered to turn his head and look.

"I don't know, let me check," Brendan answered for her.

Getting his answer, Dusk raised a right-handed fist in the air, extending it to his shoulder.

"Please tell me, Dusk...You promised me that if anything was bothering you, you'd talk about--" Dawn couldn't finish.

Not before Dusk slammed his red-colored fist into his pantleg.

Not three seconds later, the building they had left behind exploded from the inside-out, creating a massive ring that echoed through all of Eterna City, and probably beyond. Everybody, Dusk aside, froze where they stood and almost had their heart jump out of their mouth. Dawn's scarf blew rapidly in front of her, having been heavily affected by the incredible wind that followed the explosion. After slightly recovering from the loud crash, they all, once more, minus Dusk, turned their heads to see Team Galactic's building on fire, trashed, and quickly falling apart.

"...Hope nobody forgot anything," Brendan mentioned. He was the first to get over the shock.

May's heart was racing. Something like an explosion of a building that she was just in five minutes ago was enough to take her mind off of her injured arm.

Jun, after realizing what had happened, actually began laughing. "Jeez, did they have that coming, or what?"

Dawn's hand was clenching the skin that protected the heart. She was still trying to recover from the sudden blast. "A warning of that would have been nice, Umbreon!" she scolded, breathing heavily.

Dusk didn't say a word. The only thing he wanted to see was Wizard and Moonite healthy again.

None of them noticed that Dawn didn't call Dusk his usual name. Their minds were understandably on other things.

With everybody still reeling from such an unexpected explosion, most of the trip back was silent. Upon reaching a fork in the road, however, Jun paused and gave everybody else the news that they had been expecting. "Well, guess this is where I take a hike."

"It was awesome seeing you again, Jun!" Dawn sprung forward and threw her arms around Jun's back.

The boy, despite his nature, blushed heavily. He lifted his arms up to Dawn's back, but they didn't quite get a hold of it for some reason. "W-Well, I-I, uhm..."

Ignoring the mindless mumble sprouting out of Jun's mouth, Dawn stepped back. "Will we meet up again somewhere?"

Jun raised a thumb into the air, directly in front of his beaming face. The slight change of subject returned his attitude to normal. "Nobody gets away from me that easily, Dawn."

Dawn's eyes shined as she waved goodbye to her quickly-disappearing friend. "You know something? He's probably right..."

The rest of the team continued walking. This time, the Hoenn Trainers had the lead with Dusk and Dawn in the back. It was quiet for only a moment.

"You...got to know Jun pretty well, didn't you?" Dusk asked, watching the back of Brendan's head.

Dawn turned her head to her first partner. "Huh?"

The boy's eyes shifted off to the opposite side. "Nothing..."

The group finally reached the Pokémon Center. As was always the case, the only other person in the entire building was the doctor. Dusk handed the doctor his injured Pokémon, then turned around to his friends, knowing that they'd probably still want an explanation of what happened to the Galactic building.

"I blew the Galactic building up."

Brendan gasped. "Really?! I thought all buildings exploded right before they set off for new lands!"

Dusk chuckled a bit, understanding that he did just state the obvious. "Anyway, long story short, Mars and I were at each other's throats. I, naturally, won. Turned out she didn't have my Pokémon, so with another story cut short, I got to blow the building up as a consolation prize. The end."

Dawn blinked twice before responding. "That was...kinda rushed, wasn't it?"

"Well, I got to admit that my mind is on something else right now..." Dusk lowered his head and tapped his foot on the floor. Dawn's habits must be rubbing off on him.

This somehow made Brendan turn his head to May. Her head was in the same position as Dusk's, with her bushy brown hair disguising her eyes, which the other Hoenn Trainer assumed held tears. She was holding her arm again.

"M-May, why don't we go back to the doctor and see if he can help you, and we'll get the story later?" Brendan set his arm on her back. "I mean, it was just a small explosion. It can't be that important, right?"

She nodded and walked toward the other side of the counter and down the hall. Brendan was directly behind her.

In the meantime, Dusk and Dawn walked over to two chairs and rested their feet for a bit.

Dawn broke the silence, but didn't look at who she was talking to. Her eyes stayed on the hallway their friends had just walked down."Were you really worried about May?"

"What?" Dusk looked over at her.

Dawn laughed. "You two sure have come a long way since the restaurant, huh?"

Dusk got up. He walked over to a vending machine and pulled his wallet out. "She was the only thing to keep me sane after your first Coronosis attack..." He inserted a small amount of change. Two cans rolled out of the machine. He grabbed them and took one over to Dawn, keeping the other himself.

"Thanks," she accepted it. "Really? She was?"

"If it wasn't for her, I'd have thrown myself an even bigger pity party than I already did." Dusk drank a mouthful of soda at once.

Dawn, however, just looked at the drink she was holding. "Dusk, I'm sorry that your Pokémon got hurt...If you don't want to talk about what happened back there, I completely understand."

"I don't care about talking about it," Dusk worded awkwardly. "There's just not much to talk about, that's all. We each made our demands for the loser of the battle and fought each other. Because gambling on Pokémon battles is all the rage in Sinnoh these days."

Dawn laughed, not only at the joke, but at how true it seemed.

"I sometimes can't help but wonder how far we can actually make it, though..." Dusk sighed.

Dawn's attention quickly went to Dusk. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, if I almost lost a battle that serious this early on, what am I going to do when we head to Veilstone?"

"Veilstone?" Dawn was even more confused than she was a moment ago.

"If it's alright with you, I really want to make Veilstone our next stop."

"We're under-age, you know..." Dawn nudged her friend playfully.

"I don't mean for the Game Corner! Er, not yet, anyway..." he retaliated. "No, but Mars said they have another shop set up in Veilstone, and that they might be holding Chimchar there..."

"Wait, you believe her?"

Dusk winced slightly. "Well...Kind of, yeah. You probably won't believe me, but she's...kinda cool. In the maniacal, 'I'ma-take-over-the-world' sense."

"Ever wonder what they meant by 'trying to save the world'?" Dawn changed the subject.

"Every freakin' minute..." Dusk inhaled deeply to keep his train of thought working. "Somehow I have the feeling that their definition of 'saving the world' is different from ours, though."

"Mm..." Dawn found herself up to her old habits as she spaced out.

Dusk sighing one more time broke her out of it. "We got a ways to go to get to Veilstone, don't we?"

"Yeah...But if we're going to rescue Monkey, it's worth it."

"Dawn, you know I hate talking about things like this, but...I wanted to thank you," Dusk said, too embarrassed to create eye contact.

"Hm? For what?"

"Well, you know...If you weren't with me, I know I would have lost my mind by now..." Dusk nervously waved the soda can in front of him, causing its contents to stir into a cyclone. "So, just, you know...Thanks."

"I'm glad you feel that way," Dawn's gaze turned to the floor. Her voice was dampened with sadness.

Dusk inwardly smiled. He was glad that Dawn had led way to a new subject, inadvertently or otherwise. "You know I can't let you say that without asking what's wrong..."

"No, it's just...getting too dramatic in here as it is, so nevermind," Dawn shook it off and resumed staring at the soda can.

Despite her words, Dusk knew Dawn really wanted to get what she had to say out in the open. He didn't say anything.

The silence killed Dawn. It didn't take her long to crack. "You know...back in Oreburgh? When I asked you if I was your first friend?"

Dusk cringed. That wasn't his finest moment. "What about it?"

"If you really want the truth, I..." Picking up the idea from her friend, Dawn stared at the soda can. "Well, I guess I was...sorta a hypocrite."

Dusk almost lost his grip on his drink. "You...wait, what?"

Dawn blushed, as hard as she tried to avoid doing so. "You're...my first actual friend, too..."

"But Sandgem's, like, triple the size of Twinleaf! You didn't--"

Dawn shook her head. "Years back, we had family-known friends, but when my mother died...I mean, who wants to be friends with an orphan, huh?"

Dusk really didn't know how to respond to something like that.

"...A-Anyway, I think I'm going to sneak back there and see how May's doing." Dawn got out of her chair. "You want to come?"

The boy still felt bad, as if there was something he should have done to help Dawn feel better. "What? Uh, don't you have to be eighteen or something to get back there?"

"Oh, come off it. Like anybody actually pays attention to a rule like that."

Dusk leaned back in his chair and laughed. "If you say so. Let me know how she's doing."

Dawn handed her soda can to Dusk to hold on to while she walked behind the desk and down the hallway.

"Um...May? Brendan?" Dawn cried as she wandered around the hallway aimlessly. Eventually, she came to a room with her friends in it. Wizard and Moonite, who was out of his Pokéball, was laying on a table to the side, sleeping somewhat comfortably. The doctor was on the side of a bed that was in the room, and Brendan was at its head. May was laying on the table with her shirt off, though a bra was still tied around her. Dawn quickly blushed and turned her back to the room. "I'm so sorry! I'll, um...come back another time!"

May turned her head to the doorway. She didn't even know Dawn was there until she had said that. "Oh, Dawn...It's okay. If Brendan's seen me like this, I'm pretty sure the worst is over," she giggled.

"Oh, well, um..." Dawn's face returned to its natural color by the time she turned back around. She was surprised when she saw tears streaking down May's face. She had just sounded so happy. "What's wrong?"

"Um, it's...nothing, Dawn. Please, don't worry about me." May rubbed the water covering her usually joyful face on her arm, forgetting there wasn't a sleeve on it.

"If this isn't something to worry about, I don't think I'd have a job right now." The doctor took his hand off of May's left arm, revealing the injury.

Dawn gasped.

May's arm had a brutal scar on it. It looked as though it was as deep as her bone, though Dawn couldn't bear to look at it long enough to find out. The blood that still slowly leaked out of it scared her too much. "...M-May..."

"Alright, are you ready for it this time, May?" the doctor asked his patient, apparently for a second time.

"Y-Yes..." May's voice crackled as her eyes slammed shut.

The male nurse reached for a bottle near Wizard and took a tight grip on it. He aimed the nozzle at May's injury and pulled the trigger, releasing a spray to cover most of the cut. He tilted the bottle up slightly and shot it a second time, reaching the rest of it.

May screamed at the intense sting of the spray as she turned on her side, opposite of the doctor. Her feet twitched, and her remaining hand crushed a corner of the pillow her head was on. It was the only way to deal with the sudden onslaught of pain.

Dawn's hands covered her mouth, preventing her from screaming as well. Brendan didn't physically show any pity, though it had to be eating him up inside.

"All done," the doctor reassured. "Let's just get it bandaged and you can be on your way."

May breathed a massive sigh of relief. The attack of the spray had somewhat worn off. Her eyes were half closed, but full of tears. Nonetheless, she was glad it was finally over. "Thank you, Dawn...I...couldn't have gone through with that without another friend here..."

Dawn didn't have a clue how she helped, but she was relieved that she had, atleast. "Of course, May. So in other news," Dawn walked up to the bed and put both of her arms on the side, slightly leaning over May. "Dusk wants to head to Veilstone next, but May, I...He'll understand if you want to just rest for the day."

"No!" May almost shot up from her seat, but the doctor bandaging her wound held her down. "I don't want to hold the rest of the team up...I can go, right, doctor?"

"Of course you can. There's just two things you need to remember. First and most obviously, don't use your left arm for anything, or you'll know about it. Secondly, don't spend it all on the slots," he laughed.

May calmed herself back down.

"Well, alright...I know I probably shouldn't go back to the subject or anything, but what happened?"

"I, uhm..." Brendan finally spoke up. "I'm pretty sure I deserve the credit for this one."

Dawn froze. "_Brendan hurt May?!_"

"Brendan, no, it's not your fault..." May, as per usual, didn't want her closest friend to feel bad, especially since it was because of her.

Brendan had a hard time continuing after that. "My Sceptile got confused, and...when I told it to use Razor Leaf, it turned around and shot them at me. That's when..." His voice trailed off, figuring, and hoping, Dawn could imagine the rest.

The doctor felt like entering the conversation. "Well, that would explain the grass stain ringed around it...Anyway, you have a Sceptile, hm? Did you trade for it?"

"No sir, we're proud Hoenn residents," Brendan nodded. "We just came by for a week or two visit, but ended up getting...into something we weren't expecting to, so we decided to stay a bit longer." He shuddered at the thought of what the doctor would do if he found out they were responsible for the explosion of the Team Galactic building a little while back.

"I see..." The doctor placed some medical tape over the bandage to hold it together. "My cousin, she works at the Pokémon Center in Fortree. She's always telling me how great the country is. At any rate, you're all set to go, girl." He handed May her shirt back, which was just laying on the opposite side of the bed. "So are your friend's Pokémon up there."

"Great, thanks!" Dawn recalled Moonite into its Pokéball and took the sleeping Pikachu into her arms.

"Thank you so much, doctor," May said, finally poking her head back out of the neckhole of her small, ruby-colored shirt.

"Of course. You said you're going to Veilstone, right?"

Dawn nodded in response.

"Are you going through Celestic Town to get there?"

"Celestic Town?" she repeated.

"Yep. Celestic Town is a pretty small place, but its very nice. If you've been to the festival of Dialga and Palkia, then you'll definitely be interested in going to Celestic Town. A lot of people there know many more myths about the two legendary Pokémon then what could ever be told here at Eterna," he explained.

Dawn immediately grew interested. After observing the statues last night, she was eager to find out more about the mythical Pokémon. "Thanks, we'll have to check that out!"

"Oh, and my sister works at the Pokémon Center there. Drop by and tell her I said hello if you ever have the time!"

"Will do. Thanks again!" Dawn left the room.

"Thank you again, doctor," May bowed and followed after her.

Brendan didn't say anything, rather, waved farewell to the grinning doctor.

Dusk sat up as soon as he noticed the three walking down the hall. "What's going on?"

"May's doing just as fine as these two are." Dawn handed him Moonite's Pokéball, then Wizard.

"...She's sleeping?" Dusk wondered, accepting the gifts.

May laughed.

"Witty," Brendan complimented. "If it's only one 'a clock now, we should be able to reach that Celestic Town by evening, if we shut up and leave now."

"...Since when did you get so serious?" Dusk asked.

"Well, if you're going to take my sarcastic comments, somebody in the group has to be the stick-in-the-mud who blushes every time the name 'Dawn' is mentioned."

Dusk couldn't stop his face from turning red. Though unlikely, it possibly would have been easier to restrain the reflex if Dawn wasn't standing next to him.

"See! You just did it again! Now I just need to learn how to do that on command, and I think we can make this work."

Dawn joined her friend in blushing, though it was probably for a different reason. Luckily, nobody paid attention to her.

"Brendan, stop it..." May slapped him gently on the arm. She began walking out the exit.

"I told you I had to get back at them. Did I not?" Brendan followed her.

Neither Dusk nor Dawn moved.

Brendan turned back and noticed they hadn't budged. "Ground control to spaced-out units 01 and 02, do you copy?"

They both shook off their thoughts and chased after the other two.


	10. Dusk's Sacrifice

"Wow, this is...Beautiful! Look at it, Dusk!" Dawn's smile was the widest it had been in quite some time.

After traveling for the majority of the afternoon, they had made it to a very tranquil Celestic Town. A paved road was rolled out across the entire city. Celestic's Pokémon Center was in the southeast corner of the peaceful village. Adjacent to it were stairs which led to a lower area of the ground, and in this area, a cave was formed in the hillside. A quiet, seemingly unsuccessful shop was run in the opposite corner of the Town. What really caught Dawn's eye in particular, however, was the endless stream of flower petals that floated in from the sky, covering the Town in a magnificent pink and red color. The petals were everywhere; it would be almost as impossible to dodge the flowers floating in the sky as it was to avoid stepping on the ones that were laying on the ground. It was the reason the air smelled so fresh and revitalizing in the inactive Town.

May's eyes were twinkling at the incredible sight. Watching Dawn elegantly dance around in the petal shower also had something to do with that. Though she wanted to, the Hoenn Trainer decided against saying anything.

Dawn stopped her graceful prancing and landed in front of Dusk. "I already love this place so much...Dusk, can we come back here? I mean, after we finish at Veilstone? Please?" Dawn begged in a voice that was equally as cute as she was. A few petals had fallen on her shoulders.

"I guess we could do that," Dusk laughed, trying to forget about the reason they were even heading to Veilstone. He felt that relaxing just one more day couldn't do much harm.

"YAY!" Dawn screamed and jumped into the air, almost hitting Dusk with her hand as she brought it up to rejoice. "I'm going to go to the PokéCenter and get a room for the night, alright?" Dawn took off, dashing happily through the flower storm.

Brendan coughed lightly. "As much as I enjoyed sleeping on the floor while you two lovebirds got comfortable beds, I think I'll go with her and get a room for me and May." He took off running after Dawn.

Wizard, who had only recently woken up, chased after the two. "Pika Pika Pi!"

Dusk laughed at the sudden and unusual split up. "Well, I guess it's just you and me then, huh?"

"Yep..." May still couldn't put her full concentration on anything. She was a bit baffled by the falling petals.

"Let's go find out what's in that cave," Dusk suggested.

They began walking toward the area mentioned earlier without a word to each other. They were too busy taking in the scenery to think about talking. As they reached the steps to descend into the lower level, May finally broke the silence.

"I'm glad to see Dawn so happy."

"I'm worried about her, myself," Dusk joked.

"Oh, just let her be. She's having alot of fun."

May's comment confused Dusk. "Er...You're not?"

"Well, I have to admit," she giggled softly, hoping the remainder of her sentence didn't sound disheartening. "it would be alot easier to enjoy myself if there wasn't profound pain in my arm..."

Dusk's face grew dark. "Oh, I forgot about that...Are you alright? Maybe we should all just stay at the Center for the day and relax a bit..."

"No, that's okay. I don't want everybody to stay cooped up on a beautiful day like this just because of me."

Dusk couldn't believe the girl he was talking to. "May, it's fine. If you're in that much pain..."

May's face sank. She stopped in place and looked around, as if she was trying to find somebody. "Dusk, you're a good friend, so you can...keep a secret, right? Atleast from Brendan?"

Dusk really didn't like the way this was turning. "Of course..." he said, confusion still inside of his voice.

The female Hoenn Trainer stopped looking around, and instead, turned her gaze to the stair she was on top of. "My arm...doesn't hurt. I mean, at all..."

Umbreon was convinced that May wanted to drive him insane due to confusion. "I thought you--" His eyes augmented as he realized what she could have meant. "You...?!"

May slowly nodded her head. "A few minutes after we stepped outside Eterna City, I lost feeling in my arm, and..." Despite the conjunction, she didn't really intend to continue her sentence.

"May, that...might be a sign that something's wrong."

"I know! But Brendan already feels like it's his fault that I'm hurt in the first place, and with your Pokémon being stolen, I didn't really want to bother you. And I couldn't tell Dawn. I mean, look how happy she is. I didn't want to ruin that for her. So, I guess I just kinda kept it to myself..."

"May...I don't care," he stated coldly. "When you're hurt, or not hurt, as is this case, you need to tell us! C'mon, we have to get you back to the Cent--"

"No!" She looked at Dusk with a dismayed shine in her eyes. "I don't want Brendan or Dawn to find out, and they're probably both still there."

"That's why I'm going to be the one that the doctor's going to take into the back room. You'll just follow along."

May's heart began racing. The last time Dusk had a plan, an entire building blew up behind them. "Wh-What do you mean? You don't have an excuse to--"

"I suppose I don't." He smirked. "Yet." He reached for his belt and took off a Pokéball. He held it in his hand, releasing Moonite, the Pokémon contained inside, on the grass a few steps down from where they were.

May smiled, temporarily forgetting about the previous subject. "Oh, is that your new Pokémon that you were talking about? It's adorable! My brother said he found one of them in Johto!"

"And it's a Fire-type, so I thought it'd be right up your ally," Dusk mentioned, walking over to his Pokémon.

May giggled. "I guess I do have a bit of an affinity, don't I?"

"Alright, Moonite." Dusk bent down on a knee and set his hand on the Cyndaquil's back. "Give me some heat."

"Wh-What?" May almost immediately interjected. "Dusk, what are you doing?"

He wasn't quite sure what to do. He decided on staring at the hand on Moonite's back, completely avoiding May, who was behind him. "Given the circumstances, we can't get you healed without me getting injured first. A torched hand should do it, don't you think?"

Tears came to May's eyes. She didn't know Dusk would actually hurt himself just to help her. "Dusk, please don't! I'm sorry! I should have never told you! Please don't hurt yourself!"

"May..." he sighed. "Hold on a second, Moonite." Dusk stood up and dusted the grass and petals off of his knee, then glared at May, straight into her worried, sapphire eyes. "May, I don't know if you heard it or not, but Dawn was telling me how you took Sceptile's attack for Brendan like that. You saved him from getting hurt by getting hurt yourself."

May nodded her head whilst biting her lip. She was incredibly nervous.

"Let me ask you a question. Wouldn't it be nice to have that done for you, too?" Dusk continued rather coolly.

The only change May made was the tears finally broke lose and streamed her cheeks. She was still too shook up to respond normally.

"I never really told you how I felt for you staying in the waiting room with me back in Oreburgh, did I? That meant alot to me, May. Since then, I've been looking for a way to show you my thanks, and I think I found it." Dusk walked over to May and put both of his hands on either of her shoulders, being especially careful on the injured one. "You want to keep your secret. I want to see you out of the red zone. Please, May...You've helped me so--"

"Can't your Cyndaquil burn me instead?" May interrupted, finally learning how to talk again. "Then you wouldn't have to get hurt, and I could go see the doctor, and--"

It was Dusk's turn to interrupt. "May, you've helped me so many times, I feel bad that I haven't, once, gotten to return the favor..." A wry grin grew on his face. "And you don't want me to feel bad because I can't help you, do you?" He had to admit that he felt terrible for using May's kindness against her, but it seemed like the only way he could get through.

May's face, once more, fell low. Instead of down her face, the tears fell directly onto her boots, then slid off onto the steps. After thinking for a moment, she lifelessly fell into Dusk's hands, burying her head on top of his shoulder blade. "Please be careful..." she sniffled.

"I hang around with you three. If being careful isn't an impulse, I'd be screwed by now."

May laughed, though it could have been confused for sobbing. She lifted her body away from Dusk and tried to cast her anxiety away, but her heart was too kind to not worry about a friend purposely getting hurt.

"Your kindness will be the end of us, May. I know it." Dusk began walking back to his still-waiting Fire-type Pokémon. "_I still remember the last time Dawn did that...fall into my shirt, crying. She's grown strong since we first left Twinleaf, hasn't she?...Aw crap, Dawn. How am I supposed to explain to her how my hand got burned? She'll see right through anything I tell her. She has a habit of doing that. May doesn't want her secret out...Ugh. I guess that bridge will have to be crossed when we get there. Why does May have to be so kind, anyway? She's such a good friend, but I can't help but wonder if something else is bothering her that she doesn't want to tell anybody...Yet another bridge, I suppose. I'm going to have my own canal here pretty soon_." Dusk decided to end his one-sided conversation when he reached Moonite. "C'mon, Moonite...If I have any hope of getting taken into the back room, we got to shoot for a second-degree burn, alright?"

May wiped a tear from her eye using the back of her glove. Dusk's words to his Pokémon frightened her, but she knew she had to stay strong. "_Dusk...I can't believe he'd go through so much pain, just for me. Just so I can keep my selfish secret. It's my fault he's getting hurt right now. If I'd just told my friends my problems, Dusk wouldn't have to go through this. And they wouldn't worry so much about me hiding things from them. But at the same time, I don't want to be a burden...Dawn would have been crushed if I told her that I don't have feeling in my arm_." May cringed as Dusk's Pokémon started frying its own Trainer's hand. "_Why does it always seem like I'm hurting others more then helping them? Everybody panicked when I first got hurt, and now, my first Sinnoh friend is destroying his own body for me_..." Tears swirled in her eyes. She began choking, which eventually turned into a sob. She slammed her eyes shut and turned her head, unable to bear seeing Dusk getting burned any further.

--------------------------------

"Yeah! It was actually the finals. She'd been using Combusken the entire Contest, so when she used Squirtle against me in the finals, I was sorta caught off guard..." Brendan's voice trailed off at the recounting of the story.

"Wow. So you got served, huh?" Dawn took her bandana off and began tying it around her head again, refreshing its grip.

"Hey, give me a break here! If I'd known she even had Squirtle, I would have used--Huh?" Brendan turned around to see the doors to the Pokémon Center open up, revealing Dusk and May bolting in them at incredible speeds. A Cyndaquil was trailing behind them.

"Where's the fire?" Brendan asked once they were in earshot.

Dusk though being bothered by intense pain, actually managed the strength to smirk. "That's not the same thing your mother asked last night." His right hand was holding his left tightly, blocking off circulation, and some of the pain. "Had a slight mishap, and I'm thinking I have a small burn on my hand, but I'm not sure yet. Where's the nurse?"

"She's in the back, healing our Pokémon...What happened?" Brendan still had questions he wanted answered.

"Later!" May chimed in, the determination that she had back in Oreburgh returning to her voice. "Come on, Dusk, let's get back there."

The two started running for the hallway. Luckily for them, the Pokémon Center was set up the exact same way as all of them were, so they knew where to go.

"Wait, I'll come with you!" Brendan called out.

May turned her head back. "You stay out here with Dawn! I'll go with Dusk!" She resumed running directly behind Dusk until they reached the end of the hallway, at which they made a turn.

Brendan ran a hand across the back of his head. "Is anybody else aware that the humans in this group have probably been healed by Pokémon Centers more than the Pokémon have?"

Dawn ignored the comment. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on the corner of the wall at the end of the hallway that her friends had just turned at. "_May's arm looked...stiff. And why is Moonite out of its Pokéball...?_"Dawn suddenly gasped, though she kept it to herself. After a moment of stun, she tucked her head inwards a bit and smiled shyly. "...You're not too bad, Umbreon," she whispered softly.

Brendan turned to her. "D'ju say something?"

"No, nothing. Anyway, what Pokémon would you have used in that Contest?"

-----------------------

A bit of time passed. When the two Trainers started walking towards her, Dawn checked her Pokétch to see 16:10, which meant she had been waiting for about half an hour.

"Dawn? You didn't have to wait for us," Dusk told her upon seeing her.

Dawn got up from the chair she was sitting in. Wizard, having been on her lap, jumped down and ran over to his Trainer's legs.

"I didn't want to," she laughed. "But Wizard wouldn't budge without you, so I decided to stay and keep him company." While explaining the situation, her eyes dashed up and down both Dusk and May stealthily. The only physical difference either of them showed was Dusk, who had a bandage tied around his hand.

Dusk looked down at his feet to see Wizard returning the look with a happy smile. "Can't blame you, buddy. I wouldn't travel around with her either if--GAH!!"

Yet again, Dawn's handbag was thrust into Dusk's face. "You be quiet!"

May found their friendly argument cute, but thought it'd be best to change the subject anyway. "Dawn? Where's Brendan?"

"Oh, that's right." Dawn immediately cooled down. "He told me to tell you to meet him at that cave in the middle of the city...What's in there, anyway?"

Dusk and May looked at each other. Even though they were just within sight of the cave not that long ago, neither recalled seeing much in it. "Um...I don't know," May finally responded.

"Well, I'll be sure to keep this dingbat entertained while you take off." Dawn slapped Dusk's beret off of his head, then rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you going to be alright, Dusk?" May turned to him.

"Don't worry, that's atleast the third time I've been smacked with her bag. I found out that as long as I avoid the Pokéballs, it actually doesn't hurt that much."

Seeing them distracted by each other, Dawn took the opportunity to wink at an aware Wizard. He replied to her with a small nod.

"Well, okay then," May giggled. "Take care. We'll see you back here tonight, if we don't meet up by then!" She dashed off.

"Pika Pi!" Wizard chased after her.

The cry made her stop and look down at the Pokémon. "Hm?"

Wizard climbed from her leg to her back, then finally perched himself on her shoulder, gripping to her bandana with his paws. "Pikachu!"

His yellow fur pushing against her headgear made May laugh. "You want to come with me, huh? Did you ask your Trainer for permission first?"

"Pika, chu..." he replied in a very low volume.

She couldn't help but chuckle again. She turned around to Dusk to make sure it was alright, then continued walking out the doors. "You and I haven't had much of a chance to spend time together, have we?" May started petting Wizard on the top of his head.

"Pikaaa..." he cooed softly.

Back in the Center, Dusk was smiling. He was so glad May was happy again. It was worth the pain he'd endured to know that May wasn't forcing her cheerfulness anymore. After a moment of staring at the closed door, he snapped out of it and spoke up. "So, where do we head off to?"

"C'mere! I want to show you something!" Dawn tugged at his arm, avoiding the bandage. She brought him outside, then let go of him. She continued walking up a path, which was the opposite May had taken.

"Um...Where are we going?" Dusk repeated.

"Just come on!" Dawn's happiness was as evident as Dusk's confusion.

They continued on, mostly in silence, though Dusk periodically complained about his legs being tired. The flower petals from earlier had stopped flying in the air, but they still laid a pretty blanket over the grass.

The boy knew something was unusual. Dawn hadn't once asked him why his hand was in a bandage. He decided to draw attention to the subject to see how she'd react. "These stupid bandages are really annoying..."

"I was hoping you'd say that!" Dawn exclaimed.

Dusk blinked. That wasn't exactly the reply that he had in mind. "Er, what?"

"Follow me!" Dawn began picking up speed until she was in a swift jog. After dashing about, she slowed down and turned to her side, finally walking into a building.

Dusk sighed and sluggishly trudged up to the same building. "_The shop?_"he asked himself, glancing at the sign that was in the window. Curiosity was truly surging through him now. He swung the door open and welcomed himself inside.

The building was very blue. A navy-colored floor with diamond designs every few inches apart was strewn about the room. The walls were a pale turquoise. Three shelves in the middle of the room, along with multiple dresser-sized containers along the walls, were crowded with all sorts of supplies. The main counter, complete with a single cash register on top, rested in the opposite side of the building. Behind the counter were two men, seemingly bored out of their minds. In front of the counter was Dawn, holding a bag in her hand.

Upon seeing her friend, Dawn dropped the conversation she was having with the shopkeepers and ran over to him. "About time you got here."

"Sorry. I was too busy figuring out where you keep all of that energy. What did you get?"

"Ta-da!" Dawn reached into her bag and pulled out her purchased items.

"...Gloves?"

Tied together by a tight string, two finger-tip-less biker gloves rested in Dawn's hand. They were completely pitch-black, aside from a few strands of yellow thread that ran from the thumb-hole all the way to the opposite side, creating quite a stylish look. It also had the word 'Starstriker' plastered on the wrist area of the glove, evidently the name of the company that made them.

"Clashes with your skirt, don't you think?" Dusk noticed.

"That could be the reason that I got them for you," she replied, slightly irritated at the remark.

It took Dusk a second to realize what she had just said. "Wait, what? Me?"

"Of course. You just said that your bandage is annoying, didn't you? So hide it with a glove! They should be long enough. Besides that, you need a new accessory. The hat and the vest are getting a little tired." She offered the gloves to him a second time.

"Oh...Well, you don't have to pay for them." Dusk started reaching for his wallet, but Dawn grabbed his arm gently, halting him.

"Please, don't. Take it as payment for the sodas you've given me!" Dawn smiled as she offered her friend the gloves once again.

Dusk hesitantly, yet gratefully accepted the insisted gifts. "Thanks."

After they stepped outside, they began trekking in the same direction they had came from.

Dusk laughed. "I guess this thing does kinda hide the bandage, doesn't it?" he said, observing the gloves he had just equipped.

By this time, they were in a clearing in the field. Nobody was around for quite awhile. The sky was as pink as the flower petals on the ground were. The sun was beginning its descent for the fifth time since their adventure began.

"And they look nice on you, too," Dawn complimented.

Soon, Dawn stopped, causing the other Trainer to do the same and to look at her. "Dawn?"

Her voice quieted down, as did Dawn, apparently. She kicked the petals below her until the grass was revealed again. When that happened, her foot started rubbing against it. "Dusk...About your hand..."

"It's fine, if that's what you were going to ask," Dusk answered, hoping he had blindly hit the right question. "Still hurts a little, but I guess that's to be exp--"

Dawn threw her arms around Umbreon's neck and snuggled her head against his collar, which was plenty to interrupt his sentence. She groaned very softly, almost to a cute whimper as she rubbed her forehead on Dusk's neck.

Somehow, her cast didn't seem to bother Dusk as much as it did back in Eterna Forest. He put his leather-covered hands on her back and began stroking it. "The last time you did this, you wanted me to sing with you. If Celestic Town has a dancing competition, don't even think about it."

The girl giggled, but didn't respond elsewise. She continued her soothing excercise, enjoying the pleasure of being so close to her friend. The sturdy hands gripping her back only made her feel more comfortable.

A few minutes passed, and the romantic hug was slowly torn apart by Dawn releasing her arms from Umbreon. Standing in a neutral position, she giggled once more and averted Dusk's gaze, afraid of what his reaction would be.

"I-I don't know about my hand, but I'm not feeling too bad," Dusk stated.

The girl turned her head back to Dusk. "That's good," she said shyly, still unaware of what her friend was thinking.

"I suppose I should start expecting a big request to come from this one..." Dusk folded his arms.

Dawn shook her head, then smiled at Dusk. "No. I just wanted to thank you. I mean, for helping May out the way you did."

The receiving end almost fell to the ground in shock. "Uhm...What?"

"Don't be coy with me, Umbreon!" she demanded.

...Once more, that cringe...

Her voice returned back to being quiet. "You know...Having Moonite hurt you, just so you could rush May to the hospital like that...I'm glad to know that you'd make a sacrifice like that for a friend."

"...H-H-How did you...?" Dusk was still awed. He wasn't even sure what the last part of her sentence was. He couldn't fathom how she possibly knew what he had done.

Dawn laughed and untied her bandana. She walked over to Dusk while slipping the accessory into her bag. When finished, she rested her head on the Trainer's shoulder, somewhat catching him off guard. Her magnificent, midnight-blue hair was draped over both sides of his shoulder. "Living with Professor Rowan for two weeks was all I needed to learn how to observe things like that..." she yawned. "And besides that, you left Moonite out of its Pokéball. That was what made it too easy."

No words could escape Dusk. He couldn't help but feel that this wasn't a regular, friendly hug. He was in too much shock to return the gesture.

"...Well, uhm, anyway..." Dawn picked her head back up and rubbed her eyes. "I think I'm going to go put my bag back in the PokéCenter for now, then...Do you want to go find May and Wizard?"

"May and Wizard?" Dusk repeated.

"Yeah, you know. Our friend and your Pokémon?" Dawn replied jokingly.

"...Oh, right," he finally replied. "Sure. I'll wait here."

"Okay," she agreed, then bolted off toward the Center, her loose hair flowing behind her. She disappeared as she ran down the steep hill that was in front of them.

"_That's the second time she forgot to mention Brendan_..." Dusk pondered the thought, but was quickly thrown off track when a loud scream screeched in the air from Dawn's direction.

She returned in sight to Dusk, her legs running as fast as the tears from her eyes. When she reached her best friend, she quickly ran into his chest and curled herself as close as she could to him, waiting as patiently as she could for his protective arms to surround her once again. "Please, Dusk...no..." she murmured inbetween the tears.

After given a moment to make out the situation, Dusk strapped his arms around her entire body. "You're fine, Dawn. You're okay. What's wrong?"

She tried crawling even closer to him, though she couldn't. This only made her cry harder.

"Please calm down, Dawn. It's okay. I'm here--" Dusk was interrupted.

An all-too familiar face climbed up from the same hill Dawn just had a second ago. He rested an arm on his hip and smiled triumphantly. "Well, well...I guess I'm earning quite a reputation for myself, aren't I?"

Dusk grunted heavily upon seeing the annoying pest that was standing proudly in front of him. He felt Dawn's grip tighten even more, though now he understood why. "What do you want, Roark?!"

"Why, hello to you too, sunshine. Just thought I'd stop by for a little chat. So, how is everyone?" Roark continued smiling as if nothing had ever happened between them.

"What are you doing out of jail?" Dusk couldn't fix his voice to be any more stern.

"Pssh, please," Roark adjusted his glasses. "The last thing to contain me was my crib, and that's only because I didn't have a stun gun in my hand while a bunch of idiotic officers trailed back and forth like they were all important. But enough about me. My self-esteem is much too low to talk about that subject anymore. I see my good friend was right when she said that you two do make a cute couple."

Dusk quickly cycled through all the people he knew that called them that before, but couldn't figure out who would tell Roark about it. "How long did it take you to inflate those things you call 'friends'?" he asked.

"Oh! Look at that! I just noticed that you ditched the rat, too. Did you manage to trick it into walking under that eighteen wheeler that Brendy boy just happened to be driving that day? I hope so, because I just drove by their house, and the Clampett's sure looked pretty hungry."

"...Make him go away, Dusk..." Dawn whispered at an incredibly low volume.

"Speaking of old sitcoms, where is Brendan and the crybaby numero uno? Since there's apparently two now, I guess I'll have to number them."

"Get out of our way."

"I'm sorry?" Roark finally dropped the disturbing smile.

Dusk's gaze remained firm. "I said get out of our way. We're leaving, and we're going down that way. Now get out of our way."

"What are you talking about? I just thought I'd meet up with some old friends, what's wrong with that?" Roark shrugged.

"Get out of our way."

"...Hmph. Fine, then. I was always closer to Brendan, his girlfriend, and Dawn then I was to you, anyway..." Roark put his hands into his pantleg pockets. "Poor Dawn, whipped so hard, her arm got broken...Can I atleast sign your cast? Please?"

Dusk looked down at the top of Dawn's head. She was still holding him tightly, shaking uncontrollably. His eyes turned back to Roark. "Get within one hundred feet of her and I'll tear you apart myself. Did you hear me, or do you need me to repeat myself four times again?"

Roark took one step forward, then another. "One...Two..."

Dusk snarled.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Roark freed his hands and waved them in the air defensively. "I understand that you yung'ins have your own little bubble that you scream and whine if it's penetrated, so I suppose I'll step out for now. But I truly can't wait until we meet again. I just hope the rest of the Green Bay Packers are with you." Surprisingly enough, Roark honored his word and continued past the two Trainers, walking in the direction of the store.

After noticing Roark had left, Dawn opened her bloodshot eyes. She broke out of Dusk's hold and took two steps away from him, but then fell to her knees. She had run out of tears. Besides her sniffling, she was completely silent.

"There goes the only man in this entire world that I wish would just roll over and die." Though he had left, Dusk never took his eyes off of Roark, who was still visible in the distance.

"I'm so sorry, Dusk...I run into one person, and I come screaming back to you in tears...I'm so worthless..." Dawn gave up on holding herself straight and just let her entire body fall to the ground. She was still sobbing.

"Now you stop right there, Dawn...whatever your last name is. Not a single letter of calling you worthless is true. It just so happens that the 'one person' you ran into tried to kill you. More than once."

"Yeah, with a trap that he had no way of activating here! Besides the stupid Gym, he has nothing on me. Just admit it, Umbreon. I'm dead weight..."

The sound in her voice made Dusk wonder if Dawn actually knew she was sinking into self-pity or not. He sat down next to her and looked up into the sky, specifically at a wispy cirrus cloud that was passing over head. He still didn't feel like bringing up how Roark nearly shot her, so announced something else. "Let's quit."

Dawn's arms quickly received strength as she propped herself back up. "What?!"

"Let's quit. I mean, everything. We'll give Rowan back his Pokédexs, leave Monkey with Team Galactic, and we'll just stay at my place for awhile. Maybe I'll pick up a new video game to give us something to do," he clarified.

"Umbreon, what are you saying?" Dawn managed to sit up while looking at her insane partner. "Monkey was your first Pokémon...You can't just quit!"

Dusk didn't move. In fact, not even his voice changed. "If you're going to quit, why can't I?"

Dawn was suddenly struck speechless. She tried to get words to leave her mouth, but they wouldn't.

"Well, c'mon, then..." Dusk got back to his feet and offered Dawn a hand to do the same. "If we're leaving, we should go find Brendan and May first. Wish 'em luck and all that."

"I don't want to quit..." she mumbled.

"What was that?"

"I don't want to quit..." Dawn repeated in a slightly higher tone.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said that I don't want to quit!" she practically shouted.

"That's my girl!" Dusk laughed.

Dawn blushed. "I..."

"Dawn, what's it going to take me to say to make you realize that I need your help? I really want to know, because hearing my best friend getting called worthless isn't something I like to hear very often."

The girl looked at the gloved hand that was still being held in front of her. Her eyes crawled up to Dusk's smiling face. She grabbed the hand and gained her balance back. "I-I'm sorry, Dusk..." She rubbed her eyes on the back of her hand.

"Dawn, we're in this together, and I'm not going to let you back down. I'm hoping you do the same for me."

She nodded valiantly with the beautiful smile that Dusk liked so much returning to her face.

"Good. Now, go on ahead to the Pokémon Center. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Where are you going?"

"I got to go find a friend. I'll explain later!" Dusk dashed off.

Dawn, however, stood still and blinked. "...Wizard?" she guessed.

The road was lit by nothing but street lamps by the time she returned to the Pokémon Center. She stepped into her reserved room and set her bag on the bottom bunkbed, as she always did. She walked into the restroom and habitually shut the door behind her. Her elbows landed on the rim of the sink as water started pouring from the faucet. She wet the hand without the cast and began rubbing it over her face. It was cold, but the water helped her relax a bit.

Dawn returned to her room and dug through her bag for her brush. She combed through her hair, loosening all the curls and removing the grass that had fallen into it. Feeling much better, she decided to step outside the building and wait for Dusk. Instead, however, she was greeted by another friend.

She was standing on her tall legs proudly, bouncing a Pokéball in her black-and-white gloved hand repeatedly. A few dirt marks covered her face and knees, and her boots also seemed to get a little mud on them. The red bandana wrapped around her head blew around in the barely chilly night wind. The black collar to her ruby-painted shirt suffered the same fate.

Finally, she took a deep grip on the Pokéball and pointed her index finger at the on-looker, who was still somewhat surprised. A smirk was on her excited face. "I challenge you to a battle, Dawn!"


	11. One Strange Night

Dawn flinched backwards. "Er...What?"

The smirk on the challenger's face never faltered. "I want to battle you!"

"But...we're friends, May. Why would we fight each other?"

"Because..." May's expression dropped. By the tone of Dawn's voice, it almost sounded like she was going to deny the request. "We're heading for Veilstone tomorrow, and I know that your Pokémon haven't had the chance to be in too many battles lately, so I just wanted to make sure you'd be okay..."

"Thanks," Dawn rubbed the back of her head, still a bit surprised by the situation. "But you've been doing this stuff for four years now, I don't really think I'd stand a chance..."

May winked at her and giggled cutely. "It's fine. I just won't use Blaziken, that's all."

"...Wellll...okay! Let me go get my Pokémon!" Dawn ran back into the Center.

May smiled. "_Actually, it's been about eight years...but I won't tell her that_." She patiently waited for her friend to come back outside.

Time passed, and Dawn finally walked through the doors. Instead of carrying out her entire bag, she just had both of her Pokéballs in her hand. "I wasn't sure how many Pokémon you wanted to use, so I just brought out both..."

"That's fine," May replied cheerfully. The battle hadn't even started yet and she found herself having fun. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go!" Dawn untangled her scarf. Instead of being wrapped around her throat, the precious item was just laying on the back of her neck, the sides of it falling all the way down to her skirt.

May giggled. "Now I'm intimidated."

Dawn coughed. "I, uhm...learned from when I battled Team Galactic earlier that I sometimes forget to breathe in an intense battle, and having this thing choke me even more doesn't help much."

May searched herself to find a Pokéball. "Oh. Well, remember that this is just for fun, so try to relax."

The Sinnoh local couldn't help but blush. Even when she's on the other side of the battlefield, her friend still finds a way to hands out advice. "Y-Yeah, I know. Thanks."

May ignored it and sent a Pokéball spinning through the air. "Let's go, Torchic!"

It snapped open and revealed the Pokémon that was perched on her shoulder way back at the Italian restaurant earlier in the week. "Torchic tor!" it cried.

"Torchic? But I thought you had a Blaziken..." Dawn was confused how the Pokémon de-evolved.

May laughed with the cheery sound she always had. She bent down to her Pokémon and started petting it. "I do. Blaziken is this cutie's mommy."

"Oh...I always thought it evolved before your battle with Roark!" Dawn chuckled at her own dumbness. "Let's do our best, Charmy!" She repeated what May had done, releasing her starting Pokémon onto the ground.

It flapped its flippers hardily, quite prepared for a fight. "Piplup pip!"

"Aww...Dusk said that you caught a new Pokémon, and I was hoping to see that..." May's voice sounded disappointed.

"What? Er...I could switch, if you want me to..."

May spoke up as Dawn reached into her pocket. "That's alright..." A mischievous grin grew across May's face. "...I guess I'll have to beat your Piplup to see it!"

"Oh, bring it on, sister!"

Dawn had to confess that it felt good to have friendly competition for once. Her mind began wandering away as she thought what it'd be like to fight Dusk. "_I wonder if it would it be this much fun? Or would it be harder? Speaking of Dusk, where did he go?_" Her balance shifted to her other leg."_What did he think of what I did earlier? Maybe he isn't_--

"Wake up!"

"Huh?" Dawn quickly snapped back to reality.

May had a bit of an elitist smile across her face. "Do that against Team Galactic, and they'd probably hit you with the same cheap shot that I just saw."

"Oh...S-Sorry. Let's go! Charmy, Peck!" Dawn commanded.

The Piplup's beak began glowing. It started dashing towards his opponent.

"Torchic, Sand Attack!"

"Torchic! Tor, chic!" The Fire-type Pokémon turned around and started kicking the convenient flower petals at Charmy.

The penguin was a bit confused in the sudden flower storm, forcing him to stop his attack.

"Great! Now, use Fire Spin!"

Torchic complied by releasing a small, steady stream of blaze from its mouth. The fire quickly hit Charmy and surrounded it in every single direction by turning into a giant wall.

"Focus Energy, Torchic!"

Torchic closed its eyes and lowered its head. It began humming somewhat silently, helping it to block out the sound of the still-active Fire Spin, making it easier to concentrate.

"...What's wrong? You haven't issued a command yet..."

There was no response. Dawn weakly stared at the road underneath her feet. She seemed to be quite deep in thought.

May was worried her opponent's mind drifted away from the battle again. She sighed. "_She'll never become a good Trainer of she keeps doing that_...D-Dawn, maybe this entire battle was a bad idea. If you have something on your mind, we can call this a tie and talk about it. I mean, if you'd like to?"

Dawn remained silent. She knew May was talking, but wasn't paying attention to her at all. "_I'm...an idiot. I probably scared Dusk away..._"

The opponent was getting frustrated. "Ugh...Fine! Don't blame me for this one! Torchic, are you ready?"

Torchic opened its eyes, revealing its extreme amount of passion to win this battle. "Chic, Torchic tor."

"Run in for a Quick Attack!"

"TOR!" Torchic blasted off at an amazing rate of speed. Within seconds, it reached the Piplup, who was still trapped inside the Fire Spin. Torchic's speed, however, smothered the flames, releasing Charmy from its grasp, and put it back into sight.

May growled. "_What is it with these two and spacing out?_"

Much like his Trainer, Charmy also had his head bowed with his eyes shut. He appeared to be paying as much attention to the battle as Dawn was.

Torchic didn't spend too much time thinking of it. It still rushed through and gave a high-speed tackle to Piplup.

Through the intensity of the attack, he didn't move. Charmy had gotten hurt, but he didn't so much as flinch from the attack.

Seconds went by, and nobody moved. Dawn finally broke the stalemate.

"...Bide," she stated quietly.

May was shocked. Whether it was the dangerous attack or the fact that it was ordered from a girl that wasn't even paying attention to the battle, even she didn't know. "What?!"

"Bide...Bide, Bide, Bide!" Dawn's head shot up to the battle. Her fist clenched. Her eyes contained unrivaled determination. "C'mon, Charmy! Fire it!"

Charmy gained a strange aura around himself. Without so much as a warning, he shot an ego-wrecking glare at Torchic, who completely froze upon receiving it. Charmy's eyes weren't normal. They were glowing a scary white. After intimidating the foe for a while longer, Charmy opened his mouth and launched a massive beam of pure energy straight at Torchic. The wave of intense energy was enough to clear the road they were battling on of flower petals, and even rattle the nearby trees.

Torchic, being paralyzed by the stare, couldn't dodge it, despite its Trainer's wishes. It was picked off the ground by the beam and sent flying into May's stomach at a high rate of speed, causing her to fall and roll over on the ground backwards. She fell to the road, face down, and writhed only once. Torchic eventually landed beside her.

"May!!" Dawn forgot about the battle entirely and rushed over to the other Trainer. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know Charmy had so much power stored up! Please tell me you're okay! May!"

May coughed violently, causing a few droplets of blood to rush out with it. They stained the road below. "I...I'm fine..." She tried picking herself up, but couldn't manage it.

"This is all my fault...I should have never used Bide!" Dawn put her arms under May's and lifted her up to her feet. Dawn kept a firm grip on her until she regained her balance.

May smiled, though she was still in agony. "It's not your fault...If I didn't hit you so hard, Bide wouldn't have done so much damage!" She coughed heavily, doubling over in pain. "Can't say that it feels good, though...augh..."

Dawn grimaced. It was her own fault, and she knew it. "May, I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry, May. How do you feel? Are you alright?"

May smirked. Though she was in serious pain, she couldn't let Dawn know that. She stood up as straight as she could. "How do I feel? Like a Torchic just plowed into my stomach at thirty miles per hour..." She put one hand on Dawn's shoulder, and the other across her own waist. "Please don't worry about me. I really am fine. Now get over there. We have a battle to finish." May reached for Torchic's Pokéball as fast as her winded body could, keeping her hand clenching her ribs with the remaining arm.

"Are you...sure? May, we shouldn't continue if you can't--"

Dawn stopped when the Hoenn Trainer pointed her index finger in the direction of Charmy, obliging her to move over there. She forced a third smile. "...Now."

Dawn very cautiously released her grip on May, never moving more than an inch before confirming that she could stand on her own.

May had to silently confess that she was relying on Dawn's grip more than what she was proud of, but she didn't want to alert her friend any more than she already was. With her body visibly shaking, she lifted up Torchic's Pokéball and returned it, giving the orb a small kiss before putting it away.

Though Charmy was still standing, he was weakened, and panting heavily. Between using Bide and taking all the hits beforehand, he really had taken a beating. "You should come back, Charmy," Dawn said, stepping back into her original position. She lifted up a Pokéball and returned the penguin Pokémon. "Well, guess you won," she stated, trying to forget the drama that had just taken place for a moment. "You get to see my new Pokémon."

May really wanted to reply, but it was hard enough for her to breathe. Instead, she gave a wry grin as she enlarged a different Pokéball. May waited a few seconds for Dawn to release her Pokémon, but she didn't, so May entered hers first. Out of it came the only other Pokémon that she had with her, since Blaziken had been banned from this match.

"**Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon. It shelters itself in its shell, then strikes back with spouts of water at every opportunity. Very few Squirtle are known to be shy**," Dawn's Pokédex taught.

May couldn't talk. The impact of having a Pokémon sent flying into her like that shook her body up too much. If she talked, she was forced to cough until her lungs recovered. Knowing she'd need some way to contact her Pokémon, she smiled when an alternative came to mind. She tapped her boot on the ground twice on the heel, and again at the toes.

Squirtle nodded, and retreated into its shell.

"Is that some kind of morse code?" Dawn asked, accidentally out loud. "_Great...Like I know morse code. I'll just have to roll with the punches_...C'mon out, Sunnite!"

May perked up. She liked that name. She never realized that she had just heard the opposite of it earlier that day.

Sunnite appeared from the Pokéball surrounded in an electric field, purposely equipped to look fancy. The field incinerated upon receiving too much oxygen from the air. Sunnite, however, still stood proudly, even with it's black fur ruffled up a bit.

"I can't believe...how cute it is..." May barely squealed out. The consequences weren't worth the action. After talking, her body forced her to double over and, once more, cough violently. A few small droplets of blood landed on her hand, which May was using to cover her mouth with. There was no way that she was going to let Dawn see that.

Dawn was crushed. She wasn't sure how she could continue battling with something like this on her conscience. "Don't talk, May...It's not worth it..."

May stood back up properly and nodded. She seemed to mostly recover from her last shock. She brought her arm around her back and dried the blood on the rear of her shirt. To divert attention from that, she tapped her boot another three times.

Squirtle, who was still inside of his shell, picked up momentum from nowhere and started charging toward Sunnite.

Dawn didn't issue a command. Sunnite stood still as Squirtle came crashing into her, knocking her a few feet away. Sunnite quickly got up and shook the strike off, but the act did make her look back at her Trainer.

May almost jumped from shock. It was such a predictable attack, Dawn was given plenty of time to dodge it. "_But she didn't move_..."

"I can't fight you, May...I'd just hurt you again." Dawn fell to her knees and began rubbing her finger on a flower petal to keep herself mildly amused.

The mute Hoenn Trainer's eyes fell to the road, but she quickly perked back up. With a single tap of her boot, Squirtle came rushing back to his Trainer and stood proudly next to her. "Squirtle squirt," he assured her.

May began walking across the battlefield and over to Dawn. She ignored Sunnite's growl as she passed by her.

Seeing two legs in front of her, Dawn looked up to see May smiling.

Having finally gotten the Sinnoh Trainer's attention, May motioned her to stand up. After Dawn slowly rose to her feet, May gave her a tight hug, leaving her mouth close to Dawn's right ear. "I told you I'm fine," she whispered, which avoided agitating her still-winded body.

Dawn didn't reply. Only tightly held May's back as a few tear droplets leaked down from her eyes.

"Don't cry, Dawn..." May kept the same volume. "You never hurt me a first time, so you can't hurt me again..." She rubbed up and down Dawn's back affectionately. "C'mon, there's no reason for tears anymore. You're okay..."

The girl began feeling guilty for crying so much these days. "I'm really sorry, May," she said anyway.

"Dawn...If you're still worried, we don't have to battle anymore, okay? Please don't cry..." May felt the grip on her back tighten.

Dawn choked, then rubbed her eyes before releasing her hands from May's back. Though tear-stained, her eyes were still somewhat determined to win. "No," she shook her head. "You challenged me, and as a Trainer, I'm supposed to accept it!"

"But, Dawn--"

May was interrupted when Dawn pointed her index finger at May's previous battle position. After staring at Dawn blankly for a moment, May finally smiled and began walking back to the assigned battle spot.

"But, May, um...No matter what happens, we're still friends, right?"

May froze, then jerked her head back. "Of course we will be," she replied. It was in a slightly higher volume then before, which caused her lungs to deflate faster. To her relief, she avoided having to hack again. After giving herself a few seconds to recover anyway, she continued. "What made you think we wouldn't be?"

Dawn's head turned to the ground. "Er...nothing, I guess..."

There was clearly a reason behind it, but May tried her best to accept her friend's silence and continued walking. _Tap. Tap tap, tap_.

"Sunnite, sorry about earlier. Still want to battle?"

"Shinx!" she declared.

"Great! Track Squirtle down and Bite!"

The battle commenced. Squirtle began dancing around the battlefield, waiting for an opportune time to attack. Sunnite soon caught up to it and gave chase. Finally, the Water-type spotted an opening. Squirtle leaped toward Sunnite, shell first. His short tail suddenly extended with a stream of pure water. He swung it around and slapped Sunnite in the face, causing her to fall back and drop her attack order.

"_Aqua Tail?_ Sunnite! Please get up!" Dawn called.

Sunnite quickly got off the ground, rising on all fours. She was just getting started. "Shrrinx!" she howled with competitiveness dripping from her voice.

May giggled. "_Persistant one, isn't she? She reminds me of someone_..." May tenderly glanced at her rival, but shifted her eyes to her Pokémon when she sounded off another set of heavy taps.

Squirtle's hand began glowing white, eventually reaching a blinding hue. Though the move was still charging up, the biped turtle rushed fearlessly at his opponent.

"Sunnite, get ready to counter!"

The Electric-type Pokémon extended its two front paws, easily ready to pounce on Squirtle as it came by.

Giving a strong battle cry, Squirtle jumped into the air. As he started floating back down to earth, he put his hand out in front of him, aiming his Focus Punch straight at the target below him.

He wasn't six feet away when Dawn ordered her command. "...Now! Discharge!"

May winced at her opponent's command. "_Guess it's...a little stronger than I gave it credit for._" Without the use of her voice, May knew there was no way she could get Squirtle out of his attack fast enough.

Before Squirtle could hit his target with his physical attack, Sunnite released a dome of electricity surrounding every single direction, including the air. The Water-type couldn't break through the barrier. Instead, he got electrocuted from it. The Focus Punch was inevitably dropped. Squirtle hit the ground, rather shocked by the attack.

The Discharge attack continued through the air and collided with the street lights. They blinked a few times, but remained online.

"Shinx!" the Pokémon yelped, quite proud of her effort.

Dawn wasn't as eccentric. She was watching her opponent. May's head was down, causing the bandana to cover her eyes from view. One thing that was clearly visible, however, was that she was breathing heavily. "M-May...are you hurt again?"

The Hoenn resident continued panting for air.

"May, I'm so sorry...Really..." Dawn whimpered.

May suddenly sighed and lifted her head back up. She was smiling widely. "That's better..."

"What?!" Dawn hopped backwards an inch from the surprise. "You can talk now?"

May nodded. "You can...hear me alright?"

At that, Dawn did notice that her voice wasn't as audible as it usually was. That failed to stop her excitement much. "Of course!"

May sighed again. Her throat and heart still felt strange, but atleast she was finally starting to getting better. "It's about time my stupid lungs caught up to where I've been for the past fifteen minutes," she stated, sticking her tongue out meekly.

Dawn was glad that it was finally over. "So, uhm...Are you still mad at me, er...?"

May blinked. "I was...never mad at you, Dawn."

"Oh..." the Shinx Trainer's eyes turned off to the side.

May's right index finger twitched. It always did that when she felt something was wrong. She bit her lip and tried to figure out what to do. "_If_ _I ask her what's wrong, she'll probably just shrug it off again. If I don't, then I'll feel like a terrible friend, and Dawn might think the same way_..." She clenched her fist and thought back to earlier that day. "_Maybe...Dusk is right. I am too kind_. _If she wants to keep something secret, I can't force it out of her._" She inhaled a heavy breath. She couldn't say that she approved of her own decision, but felt like she didn't have a choice. "Squirtle, can you still fight?"

The Squirtle got up and waddled back over to his Trainer. A small spark surged outside of his body.

"You were paralyzed by Discharge, huh?" May asked. "We should get you healed...Alright, Squirtle! Do you remember what we did in the Mossdeep City Contest?"

"Squirtle..." The Water-type Pokémon sat down and crossed his arms. A loop of water appeared over him. It slowly and mysteriously began dripping on top of him.

"What in the world...?" Dawn commented. The odd strategy was enough to make her forget about her angst.

May giggled. "You've never seen Aqua Ring? It slowly helps my Pokémon to recover," she explained

"I'll rank that up there with 'not good.'" The remark got May to giggle. "Sunnite, hurry! Tackle Squirtle before it recovers too much!"

"Shinx! Shinx, Shinx..." The aforementioned Pokémon picked up running speed and jumped for Squirtle. However, just feet away from hitting the target, Sunnite crashed into a completely transparent wall. The recoil pushed her back to the ground.

A suddenly strong breeze picked Dawn's lengthy hair up and blew it mercilessly to the side. The battle, however, was enough to keep her mind too busy to think about her hair. "What?!"

"Pokémon are extremely vulnerable while using Aqua Ring, so without a way to protect it, using the move is always risky..." May winked at her flustered friend. "Squirtle and I found our own way around that."

"Ugh," Dawn growled, mostly annoyed by the amount of confidence May had. "_I can't do anything but sit here and watch as that stupid water keeps dripping down and down...and...down_..." Her frustration almost instantly shifted into a devious grin. "Sunnite, Howl!"

The Shinx did as she was told, letting out a loud howl. The scream covered all of Celestic City. She felt even prouder after doing it than she already was.

May was always confident in her strategies. It was Dawn's noticeably strange alteration in attitude that got her worried. "You can't break through a barrier like Protect with force..." she lectured.

Dawn turned her eyes to a somewhat startled May. She casually pointed at her. "You just make sure that bandana's on tight enough, Miss Po-ké-mon Coordinator! Sunnite, Charge!"

May blushed. She couldn't even return Dawn's fire, since she didn't have her bandana on.

Sunnite closed her eyes and focused her energy tightly.

"Charge again!"

She repeated the process.

May looked on, absolutely baffled. "_What the...?_"

"You ready, Sunnite?"

"SHINX!" the Pokémon nodded. Sunnite was so full of energy, she felt like she'd explode at any minute. "Shinx! Shishishishishi--"

"Alright, alright! Let's show Squirtle the one flaw of its move! Use Spark!" Dawn commanded, holding back the laughter that seeing Sunnite so pumped up gave her.

May couldn't share in the enjoyment. She was still too leery about the entire situation. "Flaw? I just told you, you can't br--"

"Yep. Flaw."

May decided to stay silent and wait to see how this worked out. She couldn't help a smile, since one part of her mind was actually hoping Dawn had something worked out.

"Shinx, Shinx, Shinx!" Sunnite pranced three times, then leapt into the air. With nothing but faith, she landed on top of Squirtle's invisible shield. She flashed her barred pearly whites and looked down on the oblivious Squirtle.

The Water-type Pokémon was far too deep in meditation to know what was happening outside of his protective bubble.

"_Amazing_..." May thought. "_Getting on top of a Protect like that looks cute._" She giggled. "_I might have to steal that from her. Still, where's she_--" It felt as if a surge of lightning drove up and back down May's spine as she finally realized what Sunnite was doing. She gasped, flinched, and nearly fell to the ground. "N-No...How did..."

Electricity enveloped Sunnite. She began growling as she stared at her target.

Dawn laughed, accidentally forgetting that she was fighting a good friend. "Give 'em something to remember you by, Sunnite!"

"Shinx!" She jumped off of the reflective barrier and landed in the dead center of the Aqua Ring.

The water in the Aqua Ring quickly conducted Sunnite's electricity and surged it through the entire circle, eventually reaching into Squirtle. The poor Pokémon began screaming in agony as his once-helpful water was turned against him.

"You're trapped," Dawn reminded her opponent. "If you cover the area above Squirtle, the water can't hit it, and it won't heal anything. If you take the barrier down, I'm free to do whatever I want."

May didn't respond. The smile on her defeated face was her only expression.

The barrier finally dropped, the Aqua Ring disappeared, and Squirtle fell to the ground, unconscious.

The loser recalled her Pokémon and immediately began walking over to her opponent. May's face was covered by her bangs, so Dawn couldn't really tell what she was thinking. As she passed Sunnite, her head tilted away from the road and to the creature. "_Hm?_"

Dawn spoke up, which snapped May out of her trance. "May, I'm--"

May stopped Dawn by jerking her own head towards her. Her face was beaming. "That was an amazing battle, Dawn!"

"R-Really?" Dawn stuttered, slightly surprised by the remark. "You actually looked a little mad back there, and I was just hoping I didn't cross the line or anything..."

"Of course not. But, Dawn, I...I owe it to you to confess something." The Coordinator's face turned a light tint of red. "I, uhm...I guess I wasn't really expecting to lose that battle...I can't believe that I have to admit that, and I apologize for it."

"If you had used Blaziken, I mean--"

May shook her head. "Nope. No excuses. You won, Dawn! Congratulations!"

Though it wasn't like she won anything, hearing that from a friend made Dawn feel great. "Thank you. It was awesome fighting you!"

"But no matter what I say, I don't think it could top the surprise that your Shinx has for you..." May's voice slipped off at the end.

"Sunnite?"

May stepped to the side, revealing a glowing white Shinx behind her.

"What's wrong with Sunnite?" Dawn asked worriedly.

May didn't say anything. She walked over to Dawn's back and put her hand on the other's shoulder, enjoying the moment.

A short amount of time passed. A blinding glow illuminated the night time sky, and as quickly as it came, it left. Dawn gasped upon seeing what came out of it. Tears even starting swelling in her eyes.

"Luxio!" The Pokémon who was standing where Shinx was a second ago shook her entire body, causing her fur to dance around.

"Sunnite!" Dawn couldn't contain herself anymore. She dashed up to her Pokémon as fast as her legs would let her, slid on the paved road, and hugged the Pokémon. "Sunnite..." she repeated. She couldn't get any other words to her mouth.

"Luxio, lux..." she mumbled, slightly pawing at the girl holding her.

May ran over to the two. "Congratulations again, Dawn!" she laughed. "Your Shinx evolved."

Dawn's attention returned to the other Trainer. "But how did you know...?"

May bent down to also pet the Luxio. After stroking it on the head a few times, she stood back up and started explaining. "After you beat Squirtle, and I was walking over here, I noticed that something felt odd about your Shinx. I won't go into the details right now, but...let's just say that I was taught how to sense when a Pokémon is going to evolve. And there was no denying that this was one of those times!"

"It's all because of you, May! Thank you!" Dawn sprung up and hugged the cheerful May. Soon, however, she backed off. "Hey...You didn't lose on purpose, just so--"

"Of course not. You won that battle, and that's that! Why don't you and Sunnite go find the other two and celebrate?"

"Well, I guess we could...You'd have to lead the way, though!" Dawn laughed, turning around to Sunnite. "Not like I know which way's up in this Town."

May didn't return the enjoyment. She turned her back the other way. "...N-No, I...really don't think I should go."

Dawn's own happiness dropped. She quickly turned back around. "May? What's wrong?"

"...I-It's nothing, really. I guess I'm still just a bit winded from before, that's all." May sobbed once.

The Sinnoh Trainer's eyes narrowed. "Turn around and look me in the eye and say that," she requested in a demanding tone.

She paused for a second before answering. "You know...I can't do that..." Her voice was beginning to crackle.

Dawn let out a small sigh. "Please don't cry, May. Haven't I done that enough for the both of us?"

"Dawn, I'm so sorry..."

"What? Sorry for what?"

"For just...everything." May was somehow keeping the tears back. "Ever since I started traveling with you, nothing but bad things has been happening..."

"May, c'mon. You know that isn't true."

Sunnite walked up to her Trainer's feet. "Xio?"

"Everything that happened back in Oreburgh City...Just now, you got mad at yourself because you thought you hurt me...Nothing would have happened if me and Brendan just stayed out of your way." The tears still didn't go any further than May's eyes, though they were more threatening with each passing second.

"Everything that happened back in Oreburgh was fixed because of you too! There's no way Dusk and I could have taken Roark down like you two did!" Dawn comforted.

"If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have even met Roark..." May sobbed. She ran the back of her glove across her eyes.

The more she hated to admit it, the more Dawn couldn't deny that May was right. She was going to do everything in her power to not let her know that. "But--"

"That's why..." May didn't give her friend the chance to speak. "I'm going to tell Brendan that...maybe we should...finally get out of your way."

There was an awkwardly long pause.

"...Oh."

May jerked her head back to Dawn, actually mad at her response. "'Oh'?! That's it?!"

Dawn bent down and started petting her new Luxio. "May, you know that it would break my heart if you left. I don't know if Dusk told you or not, but we weren't even traveling for a day before we met up with you two. It wouldn't be the same without you."

May remained quiet. She did remember when she asked Dusk about that back in Oreburgh, but didn't feel like mentioning it now.

"Back when I first watched you battle, in Oreburgh, I was amazed at how good your Pokémon was," Dawn continued. "I mean, the second you gave an order to it, it snapped into action. Then you helped me, you know...in the cafeteria last night. Then when you helped Dusk and me get by those guards back in Eterna...I guess...I started idolizing you. For both, your Pokémon skills, and...just as a decent human being."

May blushed. "R-Really? Dawn, I'm...truly flattered. I'm not sure what to say. Thank you."

"Well, even right here, you know...You challenged me. Even though I had Type advantages, I knew you were such a better Trainer than I was, so when I injured you, I...started thinking of things that I shouldn't have. Like...was it really an accident? Charmy and I are incredibly close. It isn't like me to not know how much damage Bide will cause. Did I really, maybe...hope that something like that would happen? The easiest way to win a battle is by default, and taking the Trainer out is a sure-fire way to make that happen. Just thinking about me doing that was..." In spite of the long set up, Dawn couldn't find the words to continue. "But...I suppose that really doesn't have anything to do with what we're talking about. I just wanted to mention it."

"Then what...?"

Dawn turned her head from Sunnite to May.

"Then what...were you dreaming about? Before the battle started? I hadn't been hit at that point..." May wondered, her battle with tears being put on hold.

Dawn laughed. "It's kind of ironic...I was actually thinking about the day we would have to split up."

May bit her lip.

"I really don't want it to happen, but I know you two will want to return to Hoenn eventually, and I can't stop you from doing that. When I looked at you from across the battlefield, I just got thinking...how much time is really left? Of course, if you leave now, I guess that question's answered..."

"...D-Dawn, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, and I shouldn't have yelled at you..."

Dawn stood up. Despite the tears in her eyes, she looked at May as hard as she could. Her voice was as shaky as it usually was in moments like this. "May...I don't want you to leave. But...I don't want you to be miserable either. If you want to..." She gulped. "...leave, then I..." Her shoulders sagged. Her head fell. "...then I won't stop you."

May gripped Dawn's hand with her own, hoping it'd comfort both of them. "How about this? No matter what I say, or Brendan says...I won't leave until the time is right, okay?"

Dawn didn't really react to her hand being grabbed. "What if that time's now?"

"It's not," May answered immediately. "And I think we'll both know when it is."

Dawn rubbed her eyes of her own tears. "So...What's Mossdeep City like?"

May smiled. She hoped that Dawn changed the subject because they were done with the last one, not for the sake of changing the subject. "Well, it's been awhile since I was there, but I think I remember most of it..."

The two silently agreed to walk off in search of their two friends before heading to the Pokémon Center for the night. May continued explaining the various places she had traveled to, but Dawn eventually got the subject to change.

"Hey, May, could I tell you something?" she asked nervously.

"Of course, Dawn." She laughed. "This must be important, if you need permission to tell me it."

"Well, um, I was just going to say that...Since I first heard that you liked Pokémon Contests, I, um..."

"Hm?"

"It's just, I...kinda want to be a Coordinator, too."

"Really? That's great. But what's that have to do with me?"

"Everything," Dawn chuckled. "When I got my first Pokémon, I just thought that I'd explore the world just for the fun of it. Then I heard about you, and I thought that being a Coordinator instead would be more fun. Your Pokémon fight so elegantly, even during regular battles, like it's just natural for them to look pretty during attacks."

"I...inspired you?" May blinked.

"Er...not if you didn't want to..."

"Huh? What's that mean?" May scratched the area near the wound on her arm softly. "_She's acting a little odd..._"

"You probably get mobbed all the time by idiots like me, and you probably hear crap like that all the time, so you're probably sick of it by now..."

She giggled. "Well, not exactly...I think you're giving me a bit too much credit."

"Really?! Miss May, you have to be kidding! I mean, the way you fight--"

"'Miss'? Dawn, we're friends. Don't address me so formally..."

"Er, sorry..."

"Dawn...I know tonight's been quite a night, but I've only ever seen you this nervous one other time..." May paused. "Did you tell Dusk that...?"

--------------------------

"No way. It's impossible."

"I'm telling you the truth!"

Dusk rubbed his temples. "I'm sorry. You know what? I'm sorry. I just don't do the leprechaun thing."

"Pikachu, Pika pika Pi!" his counterpart cried.

"Ugh..." Brendan sighed. "Fine. Be that way. You and your rodent can stick to your little fairytale world that you put yourselves in. I got a pot of gold sitting in my basement that'll put both you to shame."

The male heroes continued marching on. The disagreement made the trip eerily quiet. It wasn't too long until they spotted another pair of shadows walking towards them, though they were still in the distance. Brendan finally broke the silence.

"Hey, is that May and Dawn?"

"I think so..." Dusk squinted. "Think they're done battling already?"

"They've had plenty of time. Probably. Heyyy, we should sneak up and surprise them!"

Dusk turned to Brendan and gave him a blank stare.

"...What?" Brendan asked, confused by the look.

"You're telling me that us, two guys, are going to sneak up on two girls at 11:30 at night, nobody else around, covered in darkness, and yell 'boo'? Don't you think there's just a slight chance something could go wrong there?"

"Pika..." Wizard sighed, agreeing with his Trainer.

"No fair, it's two against one! Let me release Sceptile and--"

Dusk sighed as well. "If you release Sceptile, they're probably going to notice it, and the whole surprise thing would be ruined anyway."

"...You and your stupid logic. Dangit, man, do you ever get off that horse of yours?"

Dawn and May heard the two bickering clearly and ran up to them, finally rejoining the group. Wizard happily jumped back into May's arms. "Chu!"

"It's good to see you again, too." She giggled before kissing him gently between the eyes.

"What are you two doing?" Dawn wondered.

"Brendan wanted to stalk you," Dusk tattled.

"It was going to be a joke, I said!" Brendan snapped.

The girls looked at each other, mutually agreeing that they didn't want to know what was going on.

"Hey, Brendan?" Dawn began. "I was kinda hoping that, uhm...Would you mind if I stayed with May tonight?"

This time, the boys looked at each other, then to their respective teammates. "May...No offense, but I think she's a little young..."

"Not like that, you idiot!" May quickly snapped back.

"Okay, okay, fine, whatever! If it's fine with Dusk, I suppose."

Dusk's glance didn't shift from Dawn. "...Oh, sure, whatever," he finally answered after being stared at by all his teammates. He inwardly smiled. "_Guess that battle did more than I thought it was going to._"

"Anyway, Dawn and I are pretty tired, so we're going to head back now..." May looked down to notice that Wizard had fallen asleep in her arms. "And I guess Wizard's coming with us!" she laughed.

Brendan yawned. "Yeah, we should get going too, right, roomie?" He slapped Dusk's beret off of his head.

"Ugh! Why do you people keep doing that?!" Dusk had lost count of how many times he had needed to bend down and pick the headwear up from the ground so far.

The team started heading back for the Pokémon Center to retire for the night. The boys were trailing slightly behind the girls.

"You alright with Dawn playing for the other team now?" Brendan asked quietly.

Dawn, however, heard the remark quite clearly. She gritted her teeth. "_Apparently somebody in the sky is protecting them, because if Wizard wasn't sleeping right now_..."

They reached the PokéCenter by midnight. May handed Dusk his Pokémon, and Dusk handed Dawn his blanket, telling her, "Just incase." Everybody entered their respective, reserved rooms for the night. They all slipped into their beds and fell to sleep peacefully. All but one, anyway.


	12. The Journey, Not the Destination

Dawn's eyes flashed open. She found herself sweating and breathing deeply. She laid in her bed for a few seconds, recovering. Dusk's blanket was thrown over everything minus her head, but she felt something somewhat hard on one of her legs. She looked down the bed to see that May was sleeping on Dawn's own leg. Only her head and arms were on the bed; the rest of May was on the cold, hard floor below.

"...May?" Dawn asked sleepily.

The tired woman slowly blinked her eyes before opening them, then realized where she was. She quickly jumped off of her unusual pillow and fell to the ground below. "I'm so sorry, Dawn!"

"It's alright, May..." Dawn rubbed her still-tired eyes. "What were you doing down here anyway?" She showed a tired smirk. "If you wanted the bottom bunk, you could have just told me."

"No, I, um...don't really know why I was down here," she replied, still dazed from her sudden awakening.

"C'mon, May..." Dawn threw the blanket off of herself and rested her bare feet on the floor below. She reached for her handbag. "You know that isn't true."

May giggled. Somehow, sitting on the ground didn't bother her that much. "I guess Dusk was right. You can tell when people are telling the truth, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Dawn yawned before combing her hair out with her brush.

"Well, the truth is, um...You were talking in your sleep last night, and I--"

"I was? Did I keep you up? I'm so sorry, May..." Dawn temporarily stopped brushing her hair.

"No, no, that's not it! I tried waking you up, but you wouldn't move, so I guess I just stayed down here to make sure you were alright, and I must have dozed off myself." May finally got off of the ground and stood up.

Dawn sighed and stared at the bristles of her comb. "I don't usually talk in my sleep..."

"Were you having a bad dream?" May asked sincerely.

"I think so...I had just won a Pokémon Contest, but--"

May giggled, interrupting her. "I'd say you have some fantastic bad dreams."

Dawn laughed. "Yeah, but the thing is, none of you were there to congratulate me, so it kind of felt...unrewarding, you know? I haven't even been traveling with any of you for a week now, and already I guess I get upset if you're not with me..."

May sat next to Dawn on her bed. "Well, we were just talking about me and Brendan leaving last night. That could be what started it. But you know that Dusk will always be there for you."

The brush fell out of Dawn's hands. It bounced on the floor below her. May turned her head to Dawn to see that she didn't even care about it. "Nope...He...wasn't there either..."

May hugged her friend. "Well, it was just a bad dream, and that's never going to happen."

"Thank you, May."

"Of course," May got off the bed, grabbed the fallen hair-care equipment, and handed it back to its owner. "So you're really excited to be a Pokémon Coordinator, huh?"

"Yeah!" Dawn, once again, began stroking her hair with the brush, with the excitement that May had grown so fond of returning to her voice. "I think it'd be so cool to be up on stage, thousands of people watching you give it everything you've got!"

"I hope I don't sound selfish or anything, but..." May smiled crookedly. "...There's a lot of Contests in Hoenn."

Dawn started to get even more excited. It was lost when Dawn thought of a frustrating aspect of the subject. "But, if we did go to Hoenn, how would we find you?"

May laughed. "If you're going to Hoenn to compete in Contests, I'll promise you that you won't have to search too hard to find me."

Dawn sprung off the bed and hugged May again. It felt great to know that they might meet again. "I love--" She froze.

May blankly stayed in the embrace. The two words she had spoken, followed by the awkward silence afterwards, didn't hit May until a few moments later. Her face heated up for a reason that she couldn't even dignify. "Um...What?"

"N-Nothing...I'm sorry." With an odd feeling of regret, Dawn left the hug and turned around. She lowered her head and gave a quiet giggle. "I assure you, it's not what you're thinking."

May's hand elevated to her chest. "Dawn, it's...okay. It's not that I mind. Are you sure that you don't want to talk about it?"

"Yeah..." Dawn answered gloomily. "It's better that way. Trust me."

As much as May wanted to pry into the subject deeper, three knocks could be heard behind the closed door, which interrupted her. "Male Coordinator entering female Coordinator's room."

Dawn equipped a weak smile and picked her brush back up. She stared at it for only a moment before running it through her hair. "Come in, Brendan."

May turned her head toward the exit. More worry was on her face than what she thought there was.

The door opened, revealing Brendan, who was feeling fresh from previously taking a shower. His hair was still soaked. "Just thought I'd let the ladies know that Dusk wants to get going soon, so we're eating breakfast here, then beatin' it like Michael Jackson to Veilstone."

"We'll be out in a minute," May decided.

Brendan, unusual for him as it was, politely shut the door and walked away. "They told him, 'Don't you ever come 'round here...'" he sung to himself on the way to the cafeteria.

"You can go ahead, May," Dawn offered, Brendan's liveliness cheering her up a bit. "I just want to put my bandana on before we head out."

"Actually, I wanted to tell you something else..." May's voice sounded anxious, though that was beginning to be par for the course.

"What's wrong?"

May began kicking at the floor. Dawn's habits seemed to be rubbing off on the entire team. "I...might know why Dusk wasn't in your dream."

"What?" Dawn quickly fixed her gaze on May. The latter, however, averted it. "Why?"

"Last night, you kept saying things like 'don't leave me,' and I got to thinking of something..."

Dawn's head sank. She remembered when she told that to Dusk. Both times.

May gulped before continuing. "Dawn, have you lost a close family member?"

Dawn sighed. She was so sick of crying, she forced herself to hold back any threatening tears. "I guess so, but what's that have to do with Dusk?"

"In school, I took classes about things like this," May began. She put her hands on Dawn's shoulders. "And maybe, sub-consciously, you're worried about Dusk...dying."

Dawn shivered.

"Your mind might be making you think that if you get too close to Dusk, something will happen to him, like what happened to your family member," May explained. "That said, maybe it's another reason that you're shy around Dusk..." She showed an incredibly light smile. "Besides the obvious."

Dawn turned around and walked towards her bed, breaking May's grip off of her shoulders. She bent down to her bag and picked up her bandana, though she didn't make an effort to equip it yet. "So, I guess I just have to not like Dusk as anything more than a friend, and everything will be alright, huh?"

May knew that it had to be like a knife to the heart for Dawn to say those words. "Of course not! Dawn, the same thing happened to me last night. I thought that I was the cause of your problems, but you showed me that I wasn't! No matter how close you are to Dusk, nothing's going to happen to him because of it. And no matter how long I stay around you two, you're always going to be walking into trouble!" May hoped saying that would cheer Dawn up a little. "I know that I probably sound like an idiot, but..."

"So...I won't hurt Dusk?" In spite of her determination, she sobbed a single time. "Too many people I know have left me..."

May was stunned. "_Maybe it's not just her sub-conscious that took the time to think about this..._" She regained her composure before continuing. "Of course you won't. I promise."

May received another hug. "Thank you, May..."

"And I promise you something else. When you win your first Pokémon Contest, Dusk will be right there to congratulate you! Unless, of course, fate decides to make your first Contest against me, and then I'm afraid that you'll be the one congratulating me..." Her voice conveniently fell off at the end.

Dawn gasped. "The Pokémon Contest!" She virtually pushed May out of the hug and equipped her own bandana as fast as she could.

"'The' Pokémon Contest? You're already going to enter one?"

"Well, no, but I have to prepare for when I do! I have to go do something!" Dawn hurriedly scanned the contents of her bag.

"But what about breakf--"

"No time!" She pulled out a Pokéball from her bag. "I'll get something to eat later!" She dashed out the door and took a right.

May couldn't help but laugh. "_I guess I forgot to eat one or two meals when I first started training Pokémon too_..." She picked up Dawn's handbag, and as terrible as she felt for it, accidentally peeked inside of it. She was going to forget about it, but a notepad with scribbles on it caught her eye. Knowing that her guilty conscience was going to eat her alive, she still took the notepad out and look at it. It was written pretty badly, as if it had been drawn in the dark. She started to decipher it. "'_D' and 'U' with a heart around it...?_" She gasped."_Wait a minute! Who's 'U'?!_"

------------------------

"Hey, May! What's up?" Dusk asked after the person in question walked over to their table with a tray of food.

"What took you so long?" Brendan wondered.

"Oh, sorry, I was, uhm...Just finishing up in the restroom." May took a seat on the bench next to Brendan.

"Pika!" Wizard lifted up his bowl of food and ran across the table. He sat down on May's other side before he resumed eating.

"Well, I'm sure glad that I'm your Trainer..." Dusk closed his eyes and continued eating his meal of various foods.

"Pikachu..." He stared blankly at Dusk, continuing to chomp down his own food.

"Wizard just goes for the cute ones," May giggled, giving a small hug to the animal next to her. "So anyway, Dusk, I guess I don't really know much about your history. Where do you live?"

"Oh, I live in a dumpster in Twinleaf Town. Only the rich and famous can live in cardboard boxes in Twinleaf."

"Well, I'm sure it's nice to be in a quiet home, too. So what else about yourself?" May took a sip of orange juice.

"Um..." Dusk couldn't help but wonder why he was getting questioned so much, but he decided to go with it. "Well, I don't know if Dawn told you or not, but my actual name is Umbreon. I was named aft--"

Dusk stopped abruptly when May turned to her side and spit all the orange juice in her mouth out. It landed directly on top of Wizard, giving him an unexpected bath. His eyes became half-covered as damp fur sank over the rest.

Brendan began laughing extremely hard. His bellowing was heard well throughout the entire cafeteria.

May's face turned a very deep shade of red. "I'm so sorry, Wizard! I was just a little surprised, and I guess I forgot you were there...Dusk--" She gulped. "Umbreon, I really am sorry. I'll go clean him up right now."

Wizard, like any animal, tried to shake himself dry, spraying some of May's own drink back on her.

"It's fine, May. I'll just put him in the tub real quick before we leave. What were you surprised at?"

Despite Dusk's words, May grabbed a napkin and tried wiping Wizard off a bit. It was also a nice excuse to not have to look Dusk in the face. "Oh, um, nothing. Sorry."

Brendan wiped a tear from his eye. "I am so glad I didn't sleep in this morning..."

Dusk knew May was really embarrassed about the event, so he tried moving the subject. "Where's Dawn? The last thing I need is for her to start not eating."

"She said that she had something important to do, and she'd just eat something later. I'll save a bit of my food for her. It really is the least I could do..." May finally stopped patting Wizard and set the napkin on the table.

"I told you, don't worry about it, May. Isn't that right, Wizard?" Dusk asked sternly, demanding the response from the Pikachu that he was expecting. Whether it was true or not.

Wizard blinked. Even with May's help, fur still covered a portion of his eyes. And even worse, since it was drying, he began feeling sticky. Worst of all, his food had gotten hit too, ruining it. "Chu," he agreed quickly, the event having blown his train of thought off the tracks.

"Here, Wizard..." May took some bread off of her tray and handed it to the Pokémon.

"Keep going and you won't have any left for yourself," Brendan warned, finishing the last of his own food.

"Well, that's alright. I'm not very hungry anyway..." May stared at her tray of uneaten food.

"You remember the last time you didn't eat a meal?" Brendan folded his arms.

May shook her head.

The male Coordinator smirked. "It was the same day we got roped into tagging along with these two."

Dusk pounded a fist into the table. "HEY--"

"And I don't know about you, but I think they're plenty enough. If we walk out that door and find a homeless girl, I'm kicking her in the head and running away as fast as I can. Understand?"

The boy across the table suddenly lost his appetite. He stared at his food and gave as strong a smile as he could force. "_Homeless girl...Yeah..._"

-------------------------

"I can't think of one thing that's prettier than you are, Sunnite!"

Sunnite pawed at her Trainer's knees. "Luxio, lux..."

"Really! C'mon, don't be modest..."

Dawn was sitting on the road. Next to her was a large pile of flower petals that she had gathered. In her hands was a thick string. Her objective was to combine the two into an unique necklace for her newly-evolved Pokémon to wear. Sunnite was laying next to her Trainer, welcoming her dramatic praises with mixed feelings.

"Hey, Sunnite? Can I ask you a question?"

"Lux."

Dawn cocked her head to the side in curiosity. "What's it like to evolve?"

The Luxio grinned, but didn't reply.

The human girl finally resumed working on the necklace. "I've always wondered that. Isn't it scary, knowing that you'll never be exactly the same again?"

The smirk dropped, but she still refused to answer.

"But at the same time, you evolve to grow stronger. And besides that, 'Everything changes,' as they say. You'd think I'd know that better than anybody..."

"Xio, Luxio," she finally responded.

There was quite a bit of silence before either of them spoke again. Being the more talkative one, Dawn was the one that broke it.

"Made myself look like an idiot in front of May earlier..."

Sunnite first thought she was talking about last night. She finally accepted that her partner was probably talking about another event. She laid her head down on the road and purred. Dawn stayed hard at work on punching certain-size holes in the flower petals so they'd fit on the string.

"I don't want anybody else to know about this, but I feel alright talking to you. In all honesty, for just a brief moment...I forgot where I was. The way May acts, and laughs, and talks...She reminds me of Momma. For once in more than two years, I just wanted to spin around, throw my arms around her back, and shout, 'I love you, Momma!'" She sighed. "Just like I used to do all the time..."

Sunnite got back into her previous position, where she could see Dawn better. "Luxio, lux Luxio. Luxio."

Dawn smiled warmly. With a slight glimmer in her eyes, she set her craft down and hugged the lion around her neck. "I love you, Sunnite..."

-------------------

It was 8:30 by the time the others were ready to leave the PokéCenter. Wizard was perfectly cleaned up from the cafeteria event. They thanked the nurse for her help and left, only to find Dawn just a few feet away. She was facing the other way and down on one knee, doing something.

"Dawn?" Dusk spoke.

She turned her head. "Oh, hey, Dusk! Good morning!"

"Why weren't you at breakfast?" he continued.

"I wanted to make this! May, what do you think?" Dawn stood up and moved.

Behind her stood Sunnite, proud as usual. Around her neck was the long chain of flower petals, stuck together with the string, fully completed and very durable. "Lux, Luxio..."

"Dawn, you made that?" May was awed. She ran up to Sunnite and bent down to get a closer look.

"Yep! I had to run across the entire city a few times to find ones that weren't trampled on, but I think it turned out alright."

"It's beautiful, and the pink really goes with Sunnite's fur well!" she complimented.

Dusk was confused. "Wait, that's Sunnite? And why did you have to make a necklace for it?"

Dawn turned to May. "You didn't tell them?"

"Um, no...Something kind of happened, and I guess I forgot to mention it." May blushed slightly, her mind having gone back to the orange juice incident.

"Well, that's okay. Last night, May and I battled each other, and Sunnite evolved! So Dusk, you know, I got to thinking--"

"Moonite might not be far behind," Dusk finished, already knowing where Dawn was going with it.

"Not to crash the party, but won't the flowers kinda wither up and die?" Brendan wondered.

"Maybe...But, truthfully, it'd be alright if they did. We could always make another, or just buy one that has artificial flowers on it or something. Thinking about becoming a Pokémon Coordinator has gotten me excited!"

"You'll be a great Coordinator, Dawn," May smiled.

"Coordinator..." Dusk pondered the word for a moment. Finally, his curiosity forced himself to ask. "What's that?"

The other three Trainers nearly fell over at Dusk's question.

Brendan recovered and put his hand on Dusk's shoulder. "You picked one bad time to be stupid, Umbry."

"Umbry?" Dusk echoed.

"Sure!" Brendan exclaimed. "Dusk is too short to abbreviate, but since we got your real name now, it'll do just fine."

Dawn spotted May holding her bag. "Oh, is that mine?"

A cold shiver chilled May's spine. "_She's going to hate me if she finds out I looked in her personal stuff_...Oh! Um, yep! I just carried it out for you."

"Thanks." Dawn recalled her Pokémon into her Pokéball and accepted her handbag back from May. She dropped the Pokéball inside the main compartment, but keenly noticed that it hit something sooner than it usually does. She took the ball back out and saw her notepad in a different spot than where it had been. "Umbreon, did you look through my bag?!" she shouted.

Dusk and May cringed, obviously for different reasons. "Dawn, no, I swear!" Dusk pleaded. "I never even touched that thing!"

"It's my fault, Dawn," May confessed, hoping to relieve her friend from accusation. "I accidentally knocked it down, and I guess I didn't put everything back right."

"Oh...Well, alright. Sorry, Dusk." Dawn calmed down. "So, are we heading to Veilstone?"

"Sure," Dusk replied.

"We should be able to get there by nightfall easily," Brendan added.

"_I didn't lie...I just didn't tell all of the truth, that's all_," May told herself, temporarily cheering herself up.

Dawn kept her holdall in front of her legs. She hit it with every step she took, which somehow amused her. She suddenly laughed. "I was beginning to wonder how long you intended on keeping your real name from May and Brendan, Dusk."

--------------------

A single hour passed. The team had fallen into the same order it had been when they first met up with each other a few days ago, with Brendan and Dusk in front, and the girls trailing behind a bit. Dawn held her hands tightly around her stomach, hoping it'd block out the sound of it growling. "_Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to completely miss breakfast_..." she thought.

"Oh, Dawn, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot!" May reached into her usually-unmentioned backpack and pulled out a plastic bag with a zipper locking its contents inside. "Here, I saved this for you."

Dawn received the bag, which contained some plain, whole grain bread slices. "Thanks, May!" Despite the not-so feast of a meal, Dawn was happy to sink her teeth into anything at the moment.

"I know it's not much...I'm sorry..." May almost looked like she was going to cry.

"...M-May? It's...alright..." Dawn was getting curious. "_I know we have a reputation to keep, but this is kind of a trivial thing to cry over, isn't it?_"She decided not to say that out loud.

May couldn't keep her lie up any longer. "Dawn, I-I have a confession to make."

Dawn stared at May, walked, and ate the bread she had been given at the same time. She somewhat surprised herself how well she was multi-tasking, which wasn't one of her strong suits.

"Your bag didn't fall on the floor. I kind of...looked in it." She bit her lip, having mixed feelings about the situation. She didn't want to get yelled at by Dawn, but at the same time, she knew she deserved it.

"Oh. Well, that's alright."

May's expression turned from sorrow to surprise. "Wh-What? But you got so mad at Dusk--"

"He's a boy. It's more embarrassing for a boy to look through a girl's handbag then another girl. Especially if that boy found out what was on that girl's notepad," she mentioned in a slightly quieter volume. "Truth be told, I don't even think I'd care much if he did look inside. I'd still yell at him for the fun of it, though."

"Oh..." May blinked. This was going better than she had expected. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," Dawn replied carelessly, finishing her first slice of bread.

May felt her face get set ablaze. There was one more subject that she was stalling from, but knew that the later it got, the worse it would be. With a gulp, she forced words out of her shaky voice box. "D-Dawn? Can I say one more thing?"

Dawn chuckled. "Who's asking for permission now?"

May didn't react to it. She couldn't. Her mind was too preoccupied with her next five words. "D-Dawn...I...I love you, too."

Dawn's lightheartedness instantly dropped. Her face turned as blank as a stone. She forced herself not to scream, knowing that getting the boys involved would only make this worse. After a moment of running the stuttered sentence through her mind atleast a dozen times, Dawn shifted her head half-way towards May. "...I'm sorry?"

"I...I know how awkward this is..." May hid her hands behind her back. "Trust me, I know. To be honest, I keep thinking about what you said earlier, and I didn't really like the way that I reacted to it. I--"

"May...No." Dawn's head turned forward. Her solid expression remained unchanged. "Me saying that was an accident."

"No, it wasn't!" May set a hand on Dawn's shoulder. "Dawn, there's nothing wrong with loving your friends, and you shouldn't think that there's anything wrong with expressing that love."

Dawn's eyes shrouded themselves behind her bangs. She slipped the bread back into the bag and zipped it up. Food was the last thing on her mind. "You aren't going to let this go, are you?"

"I would...like an answer. I'm sorry, I know it seems pushy, but I'm just confused about things, that's all."

"Then let me fill you in." The sound of the familiar tears was already beginning to cloud her voice. She was going to do everything in her power to stop a single waterdrop from falling. "My mom."

"What?" May asked, eyes wide open.

The distressed girl clenched her fist. She forced herself not to turn around and glare at one of her closest friends. "You remind me of Momma. There. I said it. It was supposed to be between me and Sunnite, but since you won't die happy without knowing, there you go. You remind me of Momma."

"D-Dawn..." May gulped. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know..."

Dawn rubbed her eyes roughly. "I didn't want you to. When I started saying..." She shuddered. "...that, it was an accident. I guess I was so out of it from my nightmare, I just had a flashback. I thought I was saying that to Momma, not you. I couldn't stop myself before it was too late." She sighed, her mind having been set on tilt due to the conversation. "May, I don't want you to feel bad. I do love you as a friend, too. But...I'm sorry. This is a hard subject for me. If we could avoid it from now on, I'd appreciate it."

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry, Dawn, and thank you for letting me know."

The girl gave a saddened smile to herself as a reply.

May stared at the ground as she continued walking. "_She lost her mom? That's so sad...I couldn't even imagine..._" Her thoughts oddly drifted. Her worried frown turned into an awkward grin. "_...Momma? Me? Do I really look that old?_"

"May?"

She snapped out of her trance. Her head instantly turned to her friend. "Yes?"

Dawn's face was covered from May's view with her long hair. Instead of tears, however, Dawn was hiding a red face and a very shy smile. "Do you think...Umbreon likes me?"

May giggled. If nothing else, she enjoyed the transition from the last topic and was glad that there was no hard feelings between the two. "Well, it's sort of hard to say. His emotions are harder to read than alot of people's. If I had to guess, though, then I think I'd go with..."

--------------------

"Okay. Picture it. A little green guy comes up to your doorstep and knocks."

"Uh-huh..."

"He's got a pot of gold under one arm, and a keg of alcohol under the other."

"Mm-hm..."

"You look above your house to see a rainbow ending _exactly_ on top of your roof. I'm talking dead-center."

Dusk narrowed his eyes. "Since when do rainbows have anything to do with--"

"You're not getting it!" Brendan exclaimed, beginning to talk with his hands as well as his mouth. "The point is that you just scored a pot of gold, and who delivers them?"

"Who says that the little green guy is going to give you the pot of gold?"

"Pretend that he will."

"Chaa, Pika pi..." Wizard moaned to himself.

"I'll have to go with Wizard's guess, then," Dusk finally answered.

Before Brendan could continue, a sharp, "Hey!" intervened. The boys looked back to where it had came from and saw Dawn running towards them, with May close behind.

Dusk let her catch up. "What's up?"

Dawn scratched her bandana while panting. "I kinda forgot to tell you something. Back in Eterna, the doctor said that Celestic Town's residents are more familiar with Dialga and Palkia than Eterna's, so..."

"Dialga and Palkia?" Brendan cut in before Dusk could say anything.

May caught up to the other three. "Dialga and Palkia were the two Pokémon carved in the wall of that cave we went in, Brendan. Remember?"

"Uhh..." Brendan reached into the very corners of his shallow mind. "Nope, not really."

"Oh...Well, that's fine," Dusk stated, paying attention to no one but Dawn. "We'll just check it out next time. You still want to come back, don't you?"

"Yeah!"

The team continued traveling.

"Did May tell you two about those flower petals?" Brendan asked the Sinnoh Trainers.

"Sorry, I kinda forgot to..." May began the story. "See, while you two were traveling around the city, Brendan and I met up with some nice people, and--"

"Couple'a old bats," Brendan interrupted. "They were both senile and half-crazy. They kept calling me Brandon. I hate that."

May glared at her boyfriend, but decided that the air used to yell at him could be used for something else. "Anyway, they told us that, once a year, many Gloom, Vileplume, Bellossom, and even Sunflora gather around Celestic Town and use a Petal Dance attack. Nobody knows what makes them do it, but they've been doing it for the past thirty years! Nobody really knows how many of them there are, either, since there's so many that participate in it."

"Guess we're the lucky ones to have hit the Town on the day it happened," Brendan stated. "If we had a dollar for every day that we could have missed it--"

"Brendan, that means we'd get 364 dollars," May reminded.

"...Sinnoh! Let's take that back to Hoenn, and--"

"And it's even less?" Dusk blinked, curious of what kind of exchange rate Brendan was using.

Brendan's shoulders sagged. "I shouldn't even bother anymore..."

Dusk suddenly had a brainstorm and froze in place. "Dawn...You _do_ have my blanket, right?"

May covered her mouth with her hands. "I am so sorry, Umbreon! I completely forgot to grab it!"

Dusk knew he couldn't yell at May. "Well, it's fine...We'll call back to that Center when we hit Veilstone and tell them to hang onto it until we go back."

May sighed. "_First, I bring up a huge emotional wound for Dawn, now this...I'm doing a bang-up job today_..."

Dawn sensed her friend's disappointment and put her hand on her back. "Don't worry about it, May. It was just a blanket!"

Wizard, who had been running alongside Dusk, jumped for Brendan's pantleg and climbed his way up to the Hoenn mascot's shoulder. He leaned in and whispered to him. "Pika pi, Pikachu..."

Brendan looked back at May. "Nah, she'll be fine. She's just got a lot on her mind right now."

"Ka! Pika!" Wizard moved to a hoarse whisper.

Brendan could always took a good guess at what Wizard wanted, but everything was coming up a blank this time. "What?...You want Torchic?"

The Pokémon nodded.

"So why didn't you just ask May?" Brendan smirked. He enjoyed his talks with Wizard.

Wizard picked up the habit of rubbing the back of his head in an embarrassing situation from his Trainer. "Pika, chu..."

"Alright, buddy." Brendan closed his eyes. "Hey, May! Wizard here wants you to let Torchic out!" he shouted.

"Pika?!" At first, he shot a cruel glare at Brendan, but he quickly turned to May and shook his head nervously. "Pika pika pika... Chu Pika pi--"

"Hey, if you wanted subtlety, you came to the wrong guy," Brendan laughed.

Wizard, highly unusual as it was for a Pokémon to do so, blushed.

"Torchic?" May was about as confused as Brendan was. "Well, alright." The thought of Dusk's blanket disappeared from her mind as she took a Pokéball into her hands and released the Pokémon inside.

Wizard gasped upon seeing Torchic land on May's shoulder. He jumped off of Brendan, landed on Dawn's head, then jumped off of that to land on May's other shoulder.

"Hey!" Dawn rubbed her head. "A warning would have been nice, you know..." She fixed her bandana that had been wrinkled in the event.

Wizard ignored her and began conversation with Torchic. "Pika pika, chu! Pi ka..."

"Torchic, Tor Tor!"

May, being trapped in between the two, smiled. "_Well...I guess atleast they aren't heavy Pokémon_."

Dawn turned around, started walking backwards, and blinked. "Does Wizard...like Torchic?"

"When did he even find out that May had a Torchic?" Dusk wondered, his gloved hands gripping the straps of his backpack.

"May had Torchic out yesterday," Brendan answered. "She was actually outside for most of the day. When Wizard came with us, he must have met her then."

"I always thought Wizard liked Sunnite," Dawn blushed as if she was some part of the connection.

"I think Sunnite's already taken," Dusk replied blankly.

The girl thought about the subject for a minute. "...By who?"

Umbreon sighed. "Um...Hello? What comes out after the sun goes down...?"

Dawn actually had to ponder the riddle for a moment. "...The moo--Wait, what? Really?" she asked, astounded after finally figuring it out.

"Well, you sorta have to wonder why they were together in the forest in the first place, don't you?"

"Guess you're right..."

Brendan grew a wide grin. "Like you two, eh?"

On que yet again, both of their faces flushed red. They turned their heads in opposite directions from each other.

Feeling slightly guilty for causing the awkwardness, Brendan threw his arm around Dawn's neck and changed the subject. "So, judging by the fact it took you five minutes to figure out Umbry's quiz, is it safe to assume that you're a natural blonde?"

"Oh, shut up!"

------------------

The day continued on, mostly in silence, though Wizard and Torchic didn't shut up for hours. Eventually, May took both of them off of her shoulders and set them on the ground. She rubbed her free shoulders, glad to not have paws on one of them, and claws on the other. Her ears also enjoyed the break. The two Pokémon actually didn't seem to mind. They kept right up with the rest of the Trainers.

21:30 came all too fast. They were in a forest, though it wasn't nearly as dense as the last woods they were in.

Brendan sighed. "I'm really sorry, guys...Thought we woulda hit Veilstone by now."

"Maybe we should stop and sleep here for the night," May added.

The Sinnoh Trainers sighed. They really wanted to reach a bed by nightfall. Especially since they didn't have Dusk's blanket to sleep on anymore.

Brendan and May pulled out a sleeping bag each from their backpacks and rolled them across the grass. May, however, stepped away from hers. "Umbreon...I want you to sleep in my bag."

"What?!" Dusk exclaimed. "Why?"

"It's my fault you don't have anything to rest on tonight...I feel terrible enough for that, so please just sleep comfortably tonight. I'll be fine." She ended the sentence with a smile, though the dim moon was the only way to see it.

Brendan, who was laying on his own bag by now, sighed and sat up. "I don't believe you, May..." He jumped to his feet and stepped off of his bed. "Alright, Dawn. Get in there."

Dusk and Dawn looked at each other, hoping the other would tell them what to do.

Finally, Dawn acted. She shook her head. "No, I can't."

"Alrighty, then." Brendan quickly laid back down. "Only if you're sure."

"Brendan!" May snapped.

"Fine, fine, sorry..." He climbed out of bed once again, much more reluctant than he was the first time.

"Umbreon...Please? I really feel like I owe it to you...after all that I've done to you today..." Tears came to May's eyes. Nobody could believe she would cry over something like this, yet, at the same time, they weren't very surprised.

"Pikaaaa...!" Wizard yawned.

Torchic patted him on the back.

Brendan noticed the two. "If we don't decide who's sleeping where, I think we'll all be losing the sleeping bags to a mouse and a bird. Now, who's sleeping in these things? May?"

"No."

"Dawn?"

"No."

"Dusk?"

"Nope."

Brendan slapped himself in the face. "Alright, new tactic. Dusk and May, get in these sleeping bags. Dawn and I are sleeping on Mother Nature tonight."

The other three blinked at the sudden demands. Dusk and May wondered how they got picked. Dawn was a bit worried. "_Me...and Brendan? We aren't exactly two peas in a pod..._" She sighed and finally accepted her fate.

"That way, Wizard and Torchic can get beds too," Brendan continued explaining, shedding light on the randomness. "Quite frankly, I don't think you're going to be peeling those two away from each other any time soon..."

Both were laying on their backs in the grass, staring up in the cloudless, night sky.

Wizard pointed up to a star. "Pikachu!"

"Chic!" the Fire-type agreed.

Everybody settled down in their reserved spots. Dawn was laying her head on her handbag, while Brendan just had his hands behind his head.

"You know, Dawn...If your Sunnite there fell in love with Sceptile, we'd be the ones in the sleeping bags right now. Just between you and me, I think Moonite was cheating on that Ledyba we passed earlier."

Dawn laughed. "If Sceptile slept on the blanket next to you, I don't think there'd be any room left."

"Gah, that's right. I haven't switched him from Kibbles 'n Bits to Pedigree yet. He needs to watch his weight."

Dawn laughed again.

May was on Brendan's sleeping bag, while Dusk was on May's. They didn't really know why they divided it up like that, but that's the way it ended up. They both rolled over to their sides to watch both of their Pokémon, still laying on the grass, still observing the same sky.

May giggled. "They're kinda cute, aren't they?"

"Yeah...Pretty soon, I think I'm going to have to give Wizard to you."

The girl's voice changed to sadness. "I'm so sorry, Umbreon...I guess I have been spending a lot of time with Wizard lately..."

"I was kidding, May. Everybody on this team would travel with you, if they could." Dusk smirked, wondering how true his statement actually was.

"You really think so?"

"Sure." Dusk closed his eyes and chuckled. "I should confess. I doubt I would. Atleast, right away. See, I really want to explore Sinnoh first, then maybe I'll make my way to other countries."

May blushed. "Something's telling me that Dawn would probably stay with you..."

Dusk rolled around, giving May his back. "Maybe..."

"What's that mean?"

"Nothing, I guess," he replied rather unconvincingly.

"Umbreon...Do you want me to leave?"

Dusk quickly sat up. "Of course not!"

"You just admitted that I'm taking time away from not only Wizard, but Dawn, too. It's not fair for you, and I don't want to think that I'm causing more trouble than I'm worth," she said with a tinge of sadness, but surprisingly no tears in her voice.

"May, calm down. I don't want you thinking that you're causing trouble either, because you're not. You know that I love hanging out with you. I'd kill myself if you left the group for a reason like that."

"I'm sorry, Umbreon. I just feel so...at fault for everything that's happened these last few days. Like, you getting your hand burned, then I almost freaked Dawn out during the battle we had...Then I forgot your blanket..."

"May, they're accidents, they happen. Like when your arm got hurt, or when Dawn broke her wrist. Or when I blew a building sky high without a small warning first. No matter what you do, we'll forgive you, alright? It's what friends do." Dusk was proud of his speech, cheesy as it was.

May reached over and hugged Dusk the best she could whilst being trapped under the sleeping bag. "Thank you, Umbreon...I needed to hear that." She wiped her face off with the back of her glove. "But now there's just one more problem..."

"What is it?"

"What will Blaziken think when her daughter brings her first boyfriend home?" May laughed.

-----------------------------

The night continued. May and Dusk fell sound asleep in the sleeping bags. Destroying the point of them even getting the comfortable beds, however, Wizard and Torchic had fallen asleep on the grass, right where they had been observing the stars.

Dawn lifted her Pokétch up and hit a button, causing the backlight to activate. She watched the time turn from 23:59 to 00:00. "_...Two months, fourteen days. I can't even get to sleep before midnight anymore..._" She curled up into a ball and began crying.

Brendan, who had fallen into a rather light sleep, woke up at the sound of crying next to him. "_Because there isn't enough drama in this adventure already_..._?_" He sat up and rubbed his eyes, forcing himself to wake back up. He eventually got to his feet, picked Dawn up into his strong arms, and carried her like she was nothing. He began walking into a different part of the woods with her.

Dawn was struck stunned for a second while receiving the air lift, but quickly got over it. She dug her head into Brendan's cotton-shirt-covered shoulder and continued weeping.

Finally, they reached another nice clearing. It wasn't as big as the one they had just left, but it would do just fine for what they needed it for.

Brendan set his light-weight companion down to her feet. "Wow, you watch your weight, huh? I can't carry May for more than half an hour until it feels like I'm lifting up a truck. Don't tell her I said that."

Dawn turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. "I'm sorry...for keeping you up, Brendan. I'll just stay here for the night so I don't bother anybody..."

"You know there's no way that's going to happen," Brendan's alerted, voice as strong as usual. "Umbry'd be drinking my blood for dinner tomorrow night if he found out I stashed you in some corner of the woods. C'mon, girl, what's up?"

Dawn sniffled, but didn't reply otherwise.

Brendan sighed. "I think I know where this is going..." He put all of his weight on one leg and continued. "By chance, does this have anything to do with me?"

"Wh-What? N-No...Of course not, Brendan...I'm just worried..."

"Is that so? Worried about what?"

Dawn thought for a moment. She needed to come up with anything. "Wizard...and Torchic."

"Wizard...and Torchic..." Brendan repeated. "Riiight. Now how about you tell me what's actually wrong?"

"They were sleeping pretty close..." Dawn retaliated, still in a low volume. She was trying to keep her tears inside until she could get Brendan to leave.

"So were we."

Dawn shuddered fiercely. Whether it was true or not she wasn't too sure, as her back had been turned for most of the night, but the statement did change the subject.

"And once more, I ask. Is it me that's bothering you?" Brendan switched his weight from one leg to the other.

Dawn kicked the dirt at her feet.

"That's alot better than lying, you know."

The female hesitated before responding. Her tears somehow dried, though her voice was still shaky. "Please, Brendan, it's...not really what you think."

"Actually, I'm positive that it's exactly what I'm thinking." Brendan walked up to her back. "I'm not sure what you take me for, but I can put a puzzle together if I want to. If you want me to lay off the jokes about you and Dusk a bit, just say the word."

"M-May told you, huh?"

"May didn't say a word. She keeps her secrets, and I keep mine. I reiterate to the truck thing. Why didn't you just tell me about this?"

"Because...here's the full truth. Yes, your stupid jokes about me and Dusk bug me, but that's not the only thing that I'm crying about. I've already been through this with May, and I don't really feel like going through it again. Especially not at midnight." The sound of her voice was clearly angry, and it seemed like she was restraining herself from lashing out even more.

Brendan flinched. He safely assumed that it was a touchy subject, considering Dawn had to mock his jokes, which wasn't necessarily like her. "That's cool. It's fine if you want to keep a couple dead bodies in your closet. Still, I'll do my part and forget about those wisecracks, alright?"

"Thank you..."

"Alright. I'ma get back to camp. I'd like to see you around when I wake up, so don't spend too much time adding angst to the plot." Brendan turned around and began walking away.

Dawn, however, recalled one small thing that he had mentioned. "Hey, Brendan? You said something about keeping secrets, right?"

Brendan was afraid that he already knew where this was going. He still forced himself to stop walking. "Yeah..." he answered suspiciously.

"Does...Does Dusk ever talk about me? I mean...to you?" Dawn blushed, thinking maybe being a bit more subtle wouldn't have hurt.

"_Knew it,_" he sighed. "If I told you what Umbry thinks about you, he'd be eating my intestines as a side dish to my blood. Doubt that's healthy, but I also doubt that would stop him."

"Oh..." Dawn's head dropped. That could have easily been either answer to the question she had.

"Lemme just tell you one thing."

Dawn almost jumped at the continuation to his sentence.

Brendan rested one hand on the top of Dawn's bandana-less head. "Check your handbag."

Dawn looked at her arm to see the bag still dangling down from it. She must have forgotten to take it off after laying down earlier.

"Get some sleep, Dawn." Brendan messed the top of her hair up before slowly stepping away. He knew Dawn be less tense if he made himself scarce.

Without looking at Brendan, nor reacting to her minor hair problem, she bent down on one knee and set her handbag in front of her. It was hard to see inside at night, but the moon happened to be shining in a direction that was helpful to her. She scoured her belongings until she came across a folded piece of paper. She gasped at the sight. "_This is...what Dusk gave me back in Eterna Forest_." Her hand was shaking nervously as she slowly began to open it.

Inside was a single line, written in decent hand-writing. It was written in cursive, which was something Dawn didn't really want to decipher at midnight in the dark. Nevertheless, she knew that sleep was unlikely until she found out what it said.

Her nervousness turned to peace, and her worry into utter joy as she read the words. After reading it, she breathed a massive sigh of contentment, helping to relieve her even more. Still with a knee resting on the ground, her neck turned up to the black sky. "_Don't worry about me, Ashley...I finally found the best friend that I could possibly hope for. You just enjoy yourself up there, okay?_" She set the note down, grabbed her handbag, and began walking back towards her friends. She was equipped with a very large, if not tired smile.

"_When this is all over, we're definitely going on another adventure together. Count on that one. -Dusk_"

The letter was picked up by the wind and blown away.


	13. Preparations for War

At 6:00, Brendan woke up sooner than he had wanted to. At the same time, he knew that he probably couldn't get back to sleep, so he decided to get up. He looked to his side to see Dawn, resting much more peacefully than she was the last time he had seen her. The other two teammates were resting, though Dusk had rolled out of the sleeping bag in his sleep. "_Good thing he wasn't on the top bunk last night_," Brendan laughed to himself. He looked in the distance to see Wizard and Torchic, happily playing with each other far away as to not wake up their Trainers. Glad everyone had made it through the night, Brendan got up and stretched.

A towering figure above her, Dawn also awoke. She rubbed her eyes and stared dazedly at Brendan. "Good..." Her sentence was interrupted by a yawn. "Good morning, Brendan..."

"Hey, girl..." Brendan spoke quietly, making sure not to cause the other two to get up before they were ready. "You alright?"

Dawn stared at Wizard blankly, though she couldn't identify him so early in the morning when he was so far away. "What? Oh, you mean last night...Yeah, I'm fine, thanks to you. But Brendan, I wanted to tell you that--"

"Don't say it. I've thrown all those jokes out the window and started thinking about what I'm going to target next. I think I'm going to pick on Dusk for the beret next."

Dawn smiled, glad she didn't have to explain anything. "Thank you, Brendan..."

Brendan lowered a hand to help Dawn stand up. "'Ey, that's what I'm here for. I knew there was a reason."

Dawn accepted the hand and used it to propel herself up. When she got to her feet, she gave Brendan a hug as thanks.

"Oh? And you pick on me and Dusk, will you?"

Brendan turned his head to see May smiling at them mischievously, her hands on her hips. Dusk was in the background, sitting up, yawning.

"Hey, with you and that Pikachu seeing each other so much these days, I'm starting to wonder, young woman..." Brendan gave May a short kiss and continued walking by her to get to Dusk.

"Good morning, Dawn," May stated happily.

"Hey, May..." was the less than energetic reply.

"Something wrong?"

"What? No!" Dawn sprung to life. "I just wouldn't have minded a few more hours of sleep, that's all..."

May giggled. She was relieved that was the only problem. "Well, we'll be sure to stay a night in Veilstone once we get there."

-----------------------------

"Yeah, and you're welcome."

Dusk blinked at Hoenn Trainer. "Wh-What am I thanking you for?"

Brendan slapped Dusk's beret off from the front, causing it to fall to the backside of the owner's feet. "Something tells me you'll find out eventually."

Dusk grunted at the act. He pushed his hair down with his hand before picking his hat up and equipping it.

"At any rate," Brendan began in a higher volume, turning to the entire group. "Since we're all up, we might as well head for Veilstone now. Any idea where we are, Dawn?"

"Oh!" She reached inside of her handbag and pulled out her trusty map. "We're probably right here, on the bend of Route 210...If we just head south, then east, we should be able to make it to Veilstone by noon," Dawn rattled out as she continued observing the map, making sure she got all of the details right.

"Why don't you two go find Torchic and Wizard?" May looked down at the wrinkled-up beds. "Brendan and I need to get our sleeping bags back in our backpacks."

"Sure..." Dawn didn't take her eyes off of the map, yet started walking toward where the two Pokémon were playing.

Dusk walked beside her. "That's a very interesting map you have there, apparently."

"Oh! S-Sorry..." She put it back in her handbag and pulled her bandana out instead. "I was just thinking of where Jun is right now..."

"Jun? Why?"

"Jun really helped us back in Eterna. Since we're going to be facing even stronger opponents this time, it'd just be nice to have the same amount of backup..." Dawn sighed.

"Don't worry about it. Don't forget, we haven't exactly just been laying around, reading comic books while Galactic trains their Pokémon. We've been working ourselves."

"Well, just remember that there's no such thing as a sneak attack this time. They have to be waiting for us in there, security camera or not."

"You're a bit...tense, aren't you?" Dusk noticed.

"Yeah, I-I'm sorry...I guess I am."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Dawn blushed. She had to learn how to stop doing that. "No, it's...nothing. It's just stupid."

Dusk fixed his gaze on the Pikachu and Torchic they were nearing. "No. Telling Brendan he could join us was stupid. Nothing you say could top that."

Dawn nibbled at her bottom lip and started wrapping the bandana around her head.

Far enough away so that their friends couldn't see them anymore, the boy stopped in his tracks. "But, Dawn, since we're alone for a minute, I...wanted to ask you something."

Dawn also stopped and turned to him, finishing the last knot in her head gear. "What is it, Dusk?" she responded with an unusual amount of kindness.

"When the day comes...You know, when Brendan and May leave...Do you want to go with them?"

Dawn's heartbeat climbed to a faster speed. "...What? Why?"

"Last night, May and I were talking about some things, and afterwards, I...guess I got thinking. You and May have gotten pretty close over the last few days, so..."

"So have you and I!"

Dusk didn't respond.

"Brendan and May are great friends...but they have each other. I want us to be great friends that have each other, too..." Dawn was too preoccupied to realize what she had basically just blurted out.

"Dawn, that means alot, but if you want to be a Coordinator, you should go with them. They can help you more than I can."

Dawn frowned, knowing he had a point. It soon turned into a shy smile. "Maybe so, but...If being a better Coordinator means leaving you, then I don't think it's worth it."

Dusk shook his head. "No. I want you to be the best Coordinator you can, and if--"

Dusk was forced to stop when Dawn threw her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder, and holding onto him tightly. She closed her eyes and snuggled into his sleeve. "I'm not leaving you, Dusk, " she whispered. "And I don't want you to leave me..."

Umbreon was still getting over the sudden hug. The cast on Dawn's arm always off-set his mind for a second. He finally realized what was happening and put a single hand on her back and began stroking it. "I'm really glad to hear that."

"Besides, how could we go on another adventure together if I leave now...?"

Dusk pulled away from the hug. "You read my note?"

Dawn, however, entered back into it, gripping him even tighter than before. There was something about being so close to him that she loved. It wasn't long until her mind wandered so far away that she forgot she had been asked a question.

Minutes passed, and the two Pokémon spotted the Trainers in the distance. They scampered up to them, only to find them still in the hug. Not fully understanding the purpose of the gesture, they stared at the Trainers somewhat blankly.

"Pika...?"

"Torchic, Tor!" The Fire-type brought Wizard's attention to herself. "Tor...chic?"

Wizard dashed over to Torchic and chucked his arms around her neck. She did the same to him.

"Pika!" Wizard shouted, happy to be in the first embrace of his life.

Dawn, just now realizing they had company, turned around to see the Pokémon hugging each other. It wasn't nearly as romantic as the hug Dusk and Dawn were sharing, but it was still cute.

Torchic was rubbing her head against Wizard's rosy cheeks. "Torchic, Torchic, Torchic!"

"Pika, chu!"

"I like the way she thinks..." Dawn returned to her own hug. She mimicked the Pokémon and began rubbing her forehead on Dusk's neck, much like she did back in Celestic Town. This time, however, she felt much more comfortable doing it.

Dusk nervously placed his hands around Dawn's waist and pulled her closer. "_This is new..._" he thought along the way.

Reacting to it, Dawn stopped the motions with her head and laid it on his shoulder. Her eyes remained closed. Words couldn't describe what she felt with Dusk's leather-coated hands rubbing her back. He had such a soothing touch that Dawn couldn't recall ever feeling before.

"...I'm starting to like this," the boy whispered quietly, unsure if words would destroy the mood or not.

"I am, too..." The sound of Dawn's words were so transparent, it was as if she mouthed the sentence, rather than saying it.

"You know, the other two are probably wondering where we are right now..."

Dawn smiled at the back of Dusk's neck. "...Let 'em wonder."

Dusk moved one of his hands from Dawn's back up to her hair. He began running his hand through it. The arm could be seen shaking from his concern over screwing the magic moment up. "Anybody ever tell you that your hair's soft?"

Dawn giggled. "Don't worry, I already know..."

Wizard and Torchic ended their own hug and sat down on the grass, mystified by the show in front of them. The Pikachu leaned over to his partner and covered his mouth from the Trainers' view with his hand. "Pika, Pikachu?" he whispered.

Torchic gave a random shrug, unable to look away from the scene.

Dawn opened one of her eyes and spotted Wizard. "I think your Pokémon's getting a little restless..." she continued in an even lower voice.

"...Let 'em get restless," Dusk said in the same fashion Dawn had just a moment ago.

"The difference between the two, though, is that one of them can electrocute us..." Dawn gripped Dusk's back tightly one last time, knowing that they had to leave soon. As she slowly exited the hug, the pain of longing for another embrace was hurting her entire body.

"...What just happened?" Dawn asked, more rhetorical than serious.

Umbreon smirked as he set his hand on Dawn's shoulder. "Let's just forget about it..."

Dawn's heart shattered. Tears instantly flooded to her eyes. "...B-But, Umbreon--"

"Un--"

"Umbreon, I--"

"Dawn--"

"Umbreon, please listen! I--"

"Dawn, shut up!" he finally yelled with a small grin on his face. "Why don't we talk about it...over dinner tonight?" He quickly shied off with the last three words. He didn't realize that he just asked somebody out for a date until it was too late. "I-I mean, if..."

The crushed girl's spine stiffened. Her broken heart was mended as his words sunk into her brain. Yet, she was motionless, and speechless. After his words finally settled with her, she threw her arms behind Dusk once more. "You have no idea how much I'd love that..." Dawn stated, forcing the unfounded tears away.

"After all..." Though it was going to be temporary, he decided to hold Dawn once again. With his offer accepted, it was easier for Dusk to be calm. "Veilstone's more popular than it should be. There's got to be one or two decent joints around, right?"

It wasn't until now that it finally hit Dawn that she had been asked out. She put on a small smile before instantly dropping it as her mind turned to something else. "But what about Torchic and Wizard? And May and--"

"We'll send those four on their own double date somewhere...else. Far away from wherever we're going. But, Dawn..." Dusk grabbed hold of her arms and lifted her away from him, making sure they could look each other in the eye. "We'll never beat Team Galactic if our minds are lost."

"I know..." Dawn turned her head. "I'm sorry, Dusk. We probably shouldn't have ev--"

"Whoa, now, don't apologize..." Dusk ran his hand through the ends of Dawn's hair once again. "But we'll worry about that over our Kid's Meal." For the first time in what seemed like hours, his attention shifted from Dawn and landed on Wizard. "C'mon, buddy, we got a criminal organization to take down!"

Wizard sighed, glad to finally see his Trainer do something else except be draped over Dawn. He leapt up and welcomed himself on Dusk's shoulder.

Dusk petted him below the ears as he started walking back towards the campsite. "Then again, that's just another Sunday, huh?"

"C'mon, Torchic!" the remaining Trainer called out to the Fire-type Pokémon.

Saying Torchic was extremely wary while she jumped into Dawn's arms would be an understatement. Not fully trusting her chauffeur, she didn't once relax while being carried. "Torchic, Torchic," she threatened.

Dawn gulped. "...D-Dusk?" she called out to the boy who had a small lead on her. "Can you wait up? I want a witness..."

--------------------

After walking a ways, they all reached the campsite. As could be expected, May and Brendan were done packing. They were sitting on the grass, bored out of their minds, though May was trying harder to hide it than her partner was.

Brendan spotted them and stood up. "A thousand pardons for bothering you, sir Master, sir, but may we depart now?"

"...H-Here!" Dawn heaved her arms towards May's direction, insisting she took Torchic back.

May grabbed her Pokémon and lifted her up, getting a good eyeshot into her pupils. "Torchic! Were you being mean to Dawn?!"

Torchic jerked her head to the side. "Tor."

"Torchic! Apologize to Dawn right now!" May held the arrogant Pokémon in front of Dawn.

"...Torchic, tor..." she said in an incredibly low volume.

Dawn couldn't help but smile. She started brushing the side of Torchic's face with her hand. "That's okay!"

May drew Torchic back to her own body. "I really am sorry, Dawn...Torchic sometimes has a hard time meeting new people--"

"Sometimes?" Brendan spoke up. He walked past Dawn slowly, which caused the entire team to start heading towards Veilstone once again. "Yeah, I remember meeting that thing's mother for the first time."

"What happened?" Dawn asked, intrigued.

"It used Flamethrower on my head..." Brendan sighed.

Before the Sinnoh Trainers could successfully point and laugh, Torchic began flailing around in her Trainer's arms, garnering the attention of everybody. "Torchic! TORCHIC!"

"What? You want down?" May gently set her on the ground.

"Torchic, Tor, chic!" She rushed over to Dusk and looked up to his shoulder. The yellow mouse on it was looking back at her.

"Pikachu, Pika Pi!" Wizard steadied himself, then jumped down to the ground and ran next to Torchic.

This event got the entire team's attention.

May enjoyed the sight. "They really are cute together..."

"Yeah, if you're into the angel x demon thing," Brendan added.

May grabbed him by the collar, causing him to start choking. "I assume that my Pokémon is the angel?" she woofed.

The Hoenn Trainer gasped for air. "...Like her Trainer..."

----------------------

The early morning dew that laid across the grass began to dry up as the clock turned to 09:00. The sun, as always, lit the path ahead.

"Pika pika, chu?"

"Chic, Torchic?"

"Chu!" He nodded.

The Pokémon stopped, but since they were in the back, the humans didn't see them. Wizard laid down on his stomach, allowing Torchic to climb up his side and rest on his back. Wizard struggled with the extra weight at first, but soon adapted and tore off after the Trainers.

"Pikachu, Pika Pika!" he shouted joyfully. While dashing, however, his foot nipped the side of a sharp rock. He tumbled forward face-first as Torchic was sent flying a few inches away.

Dusk quickly turned around and dashed toward them. "Dawn, can you release Sunnite for me?" he asked, somewhat rushed.

"...Oh, sure! Come on out, Sunnite!" Dawn quickly reached inside of her bag and pulled a Pokéball out.

It blasted open, revealing the young lion Pokémon. She was still proud of the flower necklace that remained attached to her neck. "Lux?"

"Brendan, hold this for me." Dusk slid his left-hand glove off and shot it to Brendan.

Having received but a second's notice, Brendan nearly dropped the item, but managed to catch it. "No problem. I'd love to," he replied, gritting his teeth.

Dusk grabbed the end of the bandage that was tied around his hand and unraveled it a few times. "I need Sunnite to cut the bandage."

The Luxio lifted a paw up and sliced the paper in a single stroke using one of its sharp claws. "Xio..."

"Thanks." Dusk got down on a knee and checked over Wizard.

His leg had a small cut on it, with a small amount of blood flowing out of it. Dusk gave a breath of relief, glad it wasn't serious. Nevertheless, he knew it couldn't go unattended. He wrapped the bandage that Sunnite had torn off around the wound, then pondered for a moment how he was supposed to keep it there. After a few moments, he decided to just tie it and hoped it would stay.

In the meantime, Dawn, who had stayed to the back of the group, blushed. "_There_ _he goes, again...Helping his friend at the cost of some of his own bandage...And he reacted so quickly, too_..."

"Dawn? Are you okay?"

Dawn quickly snapped to. She saw May looking at her, gently stroking the dirt off from the Torchic that was in her arms. "Yeah! Sorry, I just got thinking of something else."

"Could you do me a favor and finish preening Torchic?" May giggled. "I want to make sure Wizard will be okay."

"Sure!" Before taking Torchic into her hands, Dawn returned Sunnite and set the Pokéball back into her bag. She gently took Torchic with open hands, trying hard not to scare her.

May turned around and ran over to the other two Trainers, who were still observing Wizard.

"Guess you got a little dirty from falling, huh?" Dawn started conversation. "Well, that's okay. Accidents will always find some way to happen. Are you hurt in any other way? Or did you just get--"

"Torchic!" The Pokémon opened her beak and launched a few embers from it, straight at the hand that was cleaning her.

Dawn quickly drew her hand back. Though she didn't get burned directly, it was so close to the heat, the cast on her arm slightly melted, causing the material to retract, and half of the cast to become charred.

May heard the flames being shot and looked back, only to see what she didn't really want to. "Ugh...Torchic!" She began storming back.

Though it didn't get hit, Dawn shook her hand in the air. "It's kinda like getting too close to a campfire," Dawn laughed, hoping May wouldn't be so hard on the Pokémon.

"Torchic..." May sighed as she took her Pokémon from Dawn. "What am I supposed to do with you?"

"Chic." She turned her head to the side, not wanting to continue the conversation.

May's expression switched to anger quickly. "Dawn's our friend! You don't hurt her!"

"May, really, it's alright..."

"Now think about what you just did!" May lifted a Pokéball up, forcing Torchic to return. Her head fell. "I'm so sorry, Dawn...I just feel terrible."

"Really, it's alright! It's not like she hurt me!" Dawn remained cheerful.

May spotted her friend's cast peeling backwards. Even the pink color of it was scorched. She pointed at it, to make sure there wasn't confusion. "Did Torchic do that?"

The girl glanced at it quickly, then back to May. "...N-No! Of course not! That happened last night, before I went to sleep. When...um..." She just remembered that the group didn't have a fire going last night. She gulped, not sure how to recover from her lie.

It didn't matter what she said. May wasn't going to take that as an answer. "I'm so sorry...Please, let me do something for you. Um...Oh, here, you can take my lunch!"

She started digging through her backpack, but Dawn stopped her. "At quarter after nine?"

"Er..."

"May, really! It's alright!"

"I know, but I still feel--" May was again interrupted. This time, however, it was because Dawn hugged her.

Dawn got her mouth close to May's ear and whispered, "You've helped me enough already." A smile crept onto her face.

May knew that there was a reason Dawn had to whisper that as opposed to saying it out loud. She giggled. "Well...okay..."

---------------------------

"Seriously, dude, you should work for a PokéCenter. I hear that top employees get paid minimum wage," Brendan complimented.

Dusk stared happily at Wizard. His foot was wrapped tightly, but not hard enough to cut off circulation. He actually looked somewhat cute with a white foot. "Torchic'll probably have a heart attack, though. Seeing her beloved in bandages..." Dusk taunted his Pokémon.

"Pika...!" Sparks flew from Wizard's cheeks.

"Whoa!" Brendan quickly backed off.

Dusk did the same. "Easy, easy! I was kidding!"

Wizard put away his shocking weapon and dashed off to the female Trainers instead.

Brendan handed Dusk his glove back. "Remind me to stay on that thing's good side from now on..."

"Ish..." That was the only thing Dusk could get out. He accepted his glove back and began sliding it back on its rightful hand.

--------------------------

Shortly after, the team continued on their way. Wizard was walking at May's feet.

"...Pika pi?"

"No, Wizard," May shook her head. "Torchic can't come out right now. She's been very mean to Dawn!"

"Pika..." Wizard lowered his head and sighed.

May had to admit that it was hard to stand up to that. Wizard looked so disappointed, but she had to stand her ground.

Wizard decided to put it out of his mind, and instead, crawled up to Dawn's shoulder. "Pika Pika!" He ran his tiny paw through her hair, hoping to cheer her up from whatever Torchic did.

Dawn, however, didn't even react to it. "_This day has been so amazing...I just wish it would end soon. That way, nothing could go wrong to ruin it. Not only did I find out if Dusk likes me...I got it straight from him! I'm really scared about entering another Team Galactic building, but Dusk really did give me a boost of confidence...He's always good at that. I mean, he already has our victory dinner planned before we even reach Veilstone! Of course, I guess that isn't the only reason we're going out for dinner tonight_..."

"Dawn..." Dusk called out.

"_And that's the third time he's helped a friend at the blink of an eye. May, Wizard, and me, back in Oreburgh...And the way he protected me from Roark was amazing. I didn't feel like Roark could get near me, letalone hurt me, with Dusk's arms around me like that_..."

"Dawn..." Dusk, once again, rang.

"_I kinda wish I didn't throw that pity party afterwards, though...But at the same time, it kind of made me feel better, too. Dusk trusting me so much to help him is just...uplifting. Rowan probably would have just yelled at me and told me to stop crying...Oh crap, I was supposed to call Rowan back in Celestic, wasn't I?! ...Ah well. The old man probably forgot about us by now anyway...I suppose I could call him when we get to Veilstone...Nah. If I called him before dinner, I'd be mad about it through-out...If I called him after dinner, the day would really be killed, despite what happens in the Galactic building. Haha...Look at me, I'm planning our dinner too. I really don't want my hopes too high...If something happens in there, my expectations would be crushed even harder, and I can't_--"

"CHU!!" Wizard surged a small amount of lightning through Dawn, instantly breaking her out of her train of thought.

After recovering from the bolt of electricity, Dawn found herself inches in front of a tree. Being completely absent-minded, she managed to stray off the path. If Wizard hadn't stopped her, she would have walked right into the oak tree. She turned her head to see her three friends staring at her.

Brendan purposely coughed in a low volume.

Dawn's face flushed red. "Um...Stupid...tree."

"...Chu..." Wizard sighed, glad to have avoided his ride from ramming into the trunk of a tree.

"Hey, guys, why don't, uhm..." Dusk chose his words. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Of course, buddy," Brendan responded casually, resting a hand on Dusk's shoulder. "What's up?"

Dusk brought his fingers together. "Get lost."

The Hoenn Trainers looked at each other. "...R-Right." Brendan normally would come up with a witty remark for this, but knew he'd be better off saving it for later.

May nodded, then looked past Dusk to see Dawn and Wizard, having not moved much. "Wizard! C'mon, let's race to Veilstone!"

"Pika!" He joyfully leapt from Dawn's shoulder and tore off.

The two Coordinators chased after him.

Having most of the crowd leave, Dawn leaned on the nearby tree and sighed. She heard Dusk walking towards her. "That was so embarrassing..."

Dusk, at Dawn's back, put his arms over her shoulders, letting his hands extend all the way to the end of her arms. He reached for her fingers and held on to them with his own hands.

Dawn blushed. She had always been the one to make the first move, so it caught her by surprise when Dusk did it.

"Don't do that against Team Galactic."

"I'm sorry, Dusk..." She couldn't get the magic feeling that she usually gets from being close to him to come back. She figured it was because she knew that he was angry. "My mind just drifted away to Torchic, and how May yelled at it..."

"Your mind didn't drift to Torchic, and you know it."

Dawn didn't respond.

"Dawn, we promised that we wouldn't leave each other...And I'm pretty sure your mind warped to a different planet for awhile there. You want me to go around saying that a close friend of mine only listens to half the things I say, and zones out for the rest?"

Dawn was a bit confounded at his choice of words. _"'Close friend of mine'_? _He...doesn't think of me as a girlfriend?_" She frowned. "_Or was that just him trying to be smart?_"

"I'm scared, Dawn. If you do that in the heat of battle...I don't want to know what would happen. I want you to take Wizard."

"What?!" Dawn almost broke the grip that Dusk had, but quickly remembered how rare it was for Dusk to do something like that and decided against it.

Dusk inhaled, unsure of how to continue. "I'll just...tell Wizard to stay on your shoulder, or whatever. And if he notices your mind leaving the station, I'll tell him to do just what he did...I hate to see you get shocked, but I'd hate even more to see what Team Galactic would do to you."

Dawn felt like crying. A voice inside was stopping her from doing it. "...So..."

"Don't feel that way, Dawn. You aren't worthless. I need you. And I need you to stay alert. Wizard will just be there as a safety measure."

Dawn fell backwards, directly into Dusk's body. He stood firm and caught her, of course. Their hands never broke apart. "...Why?"

The boy didn't reply.

"Why do I always do so many stupid things, then you have to come rescue me?"

"...You're thinking about your family, aren't you?"

"_I can't believe it...The one time I actually want to cry..._" She sniffled, hoping it would cause some chain reaction. "Maybe..."

"You promised me that you wouldn't quit...And I promised you that I wouldn't quit...But we never said anything about giving the other permission to leave."

The shaken girl gasped. "What do you mean?"

"I will run you back to Twinleaf. Right now. If you want to. Your mind already has a lot of regret on it, and I can't help but feel like I'm making it worse."

"Dusk, you could never make things worse. I miss Momma, and Ashley...but since I met you, you've made me so happy again. May and Brendan are great friends too, but I can't get it out of my mind that they have to leave one day...But you..." Dawn brought her hands in front of her, causing the still-latched Dusk's to follow them. "...But you'll always be here for me."

"Do you really feel that way?" Dusk asked calmly.

"Wh-What?"

"Do you really think I'll always be there for you?"

"..._Well, not when you word it like that_," she thought to herself. "I can only pray, Umbreon..."

"Then you don't need Wizard."

"What?" Dawn was slightly flustered at the random change of subject.

"If you promise me that you'll be okay...I won't say anything to Wizard."

"Dusk..." she sobbed. "You...won't leave me, will you?"

"The day I leave you..." Dusk took a long pause before continuing. He began petting Dawn's thumbs with his own. "...is the day that May goes an entire day without apologizing for something."

Dawn couldn't take their position any longer. She exited Dusk's hands, then quickly spun around and hugged him. Instead of his shoulder, she buried her head deep inside his chest. Her left hand was gripping the cast on her right arm all the way on the other side of Dusk's back. "Dusk...Thank you. You really don't know what that means to me..."

Dusk rubbed her back gently. His mouth was buried somewhere in her hair. "I think it means that we have a friend without much self-esteem."

Dawn chuckled, which easily changed to laughter. She started conversation right after she calmed down. "Oh, and by the way...Remember when I said that I'd hug you every time I wanted something?" Her voice got somewhat muffled from being so close to his shirt, but they still reached Dusk's ears just fine.

Dusk gave a quick moan. "What about it?"

"I'd like to tell you what I want every time I do it from now on..."

"Is that so?"

"Yep..." Without moving away from his body, Dawn grabbed one of his arms and put it behind her back. "I want you to put this arm here..." She repeated the process with the remaining arm. "...And I want this arm right here. Okay?"

"I can do that."

Dawn giggled as she put her arms back around Umbreon.

After enjoying the beautiful moment for awhile longer, they decided to start again on their destination of Veilstone City.

"Dusk, I got thinking..." Dawn slowly crept her hand closer to Dusk's. At first, it tickled his gloved finger a few times, but it eventually grabbed his hand. "There's no way your mom is going to let us sleep in the same house together, so..."

Dusk was happy to be holding Dawn's hand. He made sure not to squeeze it, as it was the hand with the cast near it, but he still kept a tight enough grip to it. "I'm not going to let you go back to Rowan's if you don't want to."

"I know...And I don't really want to. I was...just kinda wondering if you had a tent, is all."

"Tent? I'm not going to throw you outside either," Dusk laughed.

"No, it's really okay!" Dawn gazed at an object that was laying on the ground far in the distance. "You wouldn't believe the amount of times I've gone camping in my life. But, I mean, even if you didn't have a tent, that'd be okay..."

"What if it rains?"

"Well, that's kind of the bad part, but it's still alright. I'll just cover up, that's--"

"Dawn, really! There's no way my mother would let you sleep out in the rain...There's no way my mother would let you sleep outside! When we reach Veilstone, we'll call her up and figure something out."

"Are you sure?"

At first, Dusk was going to just fire out a "Sure!" Then he realized that he just signed himself up for judgment day. "_Ah, well...Atleast if we ask her over the phone, she can't kill me. Then again, knowing Mom_...Sure!" he finally responded.

Dawn, though she wanted to continue the conversation, couldn't turn her eyes away from the object she saw. Her gifted eyesight honed in on the object, and she finally realized what it was. "...It's Brendan!"

Their hands unconsciously broke apart as they picked up speed to meet their fallen comrade.

When they reached him, they found him laying on his back, panting heavily, staring up into the sun. "You would never know how bright that thing is until you stare at it for fifteen minutes straight," he alerted, deeming it useful knowledge.

"Brendan? Are you...alright?" Dawn asked, circling the person cautiously.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine...I'm just fine...Great...I'm just great...Just curious, could either of you give me a description of what feeling in your legs is like? I forgot."

Dusk laughed as he bent over and helped Brendan get to his feet. "What happened to May and Wizard?"

Now standing up, Brendan pointed in the direction they had been walking in. "Those two...They eat their Wheaties, that's for sure. If it's to any of my defense, I think my sleeping bag's heavier than May's is..."

"Wait a second..." Dawn took out her map and quickly unfolded it. "Dusk, I think Veilstone's right here! We just have to continue another ten minutes, at most!"

"...I have a question." Brendan was still dazed from his experience. "You addressed him specifically...Does that mean it takes me longer? Or am I right in hearing that I had to run another lousy ten minutes to win?"

"You can barely walk now, you really think you could have run another ten minutes?" Dusk wondered.

"Sure I coulda. My legs were already numb by then."

Dusk and Dawn laughed as they got on either side of Brendan. They let him put his arms around their necks, helping him to keep his balance while they continued toward Veilstone.

------------------------

"This...is not what I was expecting," Dawn stated.

They looked up from the trail to see the one and only Veilstone City. Despite Dawn's unspoken prediction, it wasn't very active. The town itself, however, was probably about the size of Jubilife. The very large shopping mall looming over the city was easily the highlight of it. A PokéCenter dotted the corner of the map, and everything else was a typical home.

Brendan took his arms off of the Sinnoh Trainers and finally began walking himself. "Huh, pavement..." he observed. "Anyway, before we do anything, let's hit the Center. I want to do something before the little joust that we're going to have."

They made their way over to the building. Along the way, they were all guilty of atleast mentioning how inactive such a hyped-up Town was.

"Whoa, massive plot twist! This Center looks like the dozen that we've already been in!" Brendan remarked once the Pokémon hospital's doors opened up.

"Sure simplifies things, doesn't it?" Dusk asked.

Brendan led the group over to the side of the Center that contained multiple video phones. A single board was placed in between all of them as to help increase privacy, if not just a little bit. They were surprised when they noticed a familiar red bandana peeking out from behind one of them. Brendan walked over to it, and the other two soon followed.

"...Whoa! Brendan, is that you?!" the person on the other side of the video phone screamed upon seeing him.

"Max!" Brendan exclaimed. "Yo. It's been way too long. What's up, buddy?"

"How'd May suck you into visiting Sinnoh with her?"

"Oh, shut it, Max!" May countered, folding her arms.

Dusk and Dawn leaned in closer to the monitor to see who everybody was talking to.

"Oh! Max, these are my friends from Sinnoh, Umbreon and Dawn. Umbreon, Dawn, this is Max. He's my brother!"

"You never told us you had a brother. Hi, Max!" Dawn waved.

From what Dawn could tell, Max was a somewhat short boy. He had blackish-blue hair with coke-bottle glasses over his eyes.

"Gee, thanks for the great set-up, May..." Max whined.

"Your voice is as annoying as it was two years ago, Max!" May complained.

"You're as annoying as you were two--"

Brendan took it upon himself to break up the argument. "What are you doing at May's place, anyway?"

"It's my house too, you know..." Max whined, feeling severely depreciated. "Anyway, I'm done exploring Johto for awhile, so I thought I'd come back home. I want to set off for Orre next, but we'll see. It's nice being back home, too."

"I wanted to call Mom and surprise her, but Max picked up the phone instead. Is Mom there, Max?" May asked.

"Nope, I think she's out for groceries, or something, I dunno. If she knew she was getting a call from you, th--"

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise, you idiot!" May retorted.

"Alright, it's gettin' just a bit too warm in here for me." Brendan stepped away from the monitor, but looked back at it one last time. "You stay o'tta trouble, Max."

"Kinda funny, since I should be telling you that," Max chuckled, lifting up his glasses with his index finger.

Brendan stepped away and started dialing on another phone.

"Max, you've gotten so tall..." May remarked.

"Well, that's a real compliment, coming from six-foot-something over there."

May stuck her tongue out.

"How long has it been since you two have seen each other?" Dawn asked, having not paid attention to the hint given.

"It's been two years," Max replied with an odd grin.

Dawn chuckled.

"Yep...Two really great years," Max laughed.

"C'mon, Max, just admit that we've had some great times together..."

"Not when you're sitting right there! Where are you guys, anyway?"

"Veilstone," Dusk finally spoke up.

"Oh! I've heard that place is really busy," Max remarked.

Dawn sighed. "I guess we came on an off-day, then...Oh! I suppose I should go call somebody...It was great to meet you, Max!" She slipped off the screen and made her way down a couple booths.

Knowingly or otherwise, Dusk followed her.

"Wow...Can I kill a crowd, or what?" Max asked. "Hey, May?"

"What is it?"

"In all seriousness...Come home soon."

May smiled. "I will, Max. I just want to finish helping Umbreon and Dawn with something, and I'll be home after that."

"Just don't piss off Kyogre and Groudon like you did last time you helped somebody."

May laughed. "That's a mistake you can only make once."

-------------------

"Who are you calling?"

"Mr. Personality himself..." Dawn sighed.

"What? Really? Why?"

She sat down in the chair. "I wish I knew...You can go call your mom and talk to her, if you want to save yourself from Rowan."

Dusk put his hand on the board to the side of his friend and leaned on it. "Out of the frying pan, into the fire, ain't it?"

Dawn laughed as the monitor came to life.

The man entered with his usual greeting. "Yes, what is it?"

"Professor, it's us!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Mm, yes...Fine. What is it?"

Dawn was about ready to shut the monitor off at that. Something, however, kept her from doing so. "Look, Rowan, we kinda got--"

"Excuse me?" Rowan interrupted.

Dawn realized that she addressed him improperly. She bit her lip not only as punishment, but to contain her rage. "...Sorry, Professor. As I was saying, we kind of got sidetracked with something else, and we have to put the Pokédex thing on the backburner."

Dusk was somewhat surprised at how well Dawn was standing up to Rowan. As usual, he decided to stay silent.

"Is that so? I do hope it's important. Perhaps you're saving the world from imminent destruction, am I right?"

Dawn licked her lips with her tongue. "Actually--"

"If you aren't able to complete the Pokédex, then I suppose I'll settle for as much data as you can get. Don't think for a second that means you can slack off, however. I'm still expecting close to completion."

"...Pro-Professor, we have to make another call. I'll talk to you some other time, alright?" Dawn didn't even give Rowan a chance to reply. She clicked a button, causing the monitor to shut down, and the communication to end. She slammed her fist on the table beneath it.

Dusk blinked. "I'm going to guess that hurt, right?"

She paused for a moment. "A bit."

"Are you alright?"

Dawn let out another sigh. "I wanted to talk to him more, but I just...can't! Now that I know I don't have to live with him--"

"You don't have to suck up to him?" Dusk finished.

Dawn sagged in the chair slightly.

"S-Speaking of your living arrangements..."

Both Sinnoh Trainers gulped. They were about to face their toughest challenge yet.

"...Hello?" Johanne picked up the phone and turned her monitor on.

"Ma?" Dusk replied in the care-free voice he always talked to his mother in.

"Umbreon! I can't believe it! It's been so long!" Johanne became ecstatic upon seeing her son appear on the monitor. She hardly even noticed Dawn, who was still sitting in the chair, even closer to the monitor than Dusk was.

"It's been a week...Anyway, I can't talk long right now, but I promise you that I'll call again tonight, alright? Right now, we have something kind of important to discuss..."

"What's wrong, dear? Oh, hi, Dawn," she casually fitted in.

Dawn lifted her hand up to give a quick wave. "Hi," she replied with barely any sound behind it at all.

Dusk put his hands on Dawn's shoulders. He wasn't sure it was a good idea to be so close to Dawn in front of his mother, but decided to give it a shot. "Dawn wants to live with us."

Johanne, surprising the boy, didn't even seem to notice the gesture. He assumed that the news got in the way of it. "Wait, what? With us? Don't you like Sandgem Town, Dawn?"

"I love Sandgem, but...S-Something kinda came up, and I can't live there for awhile, so..._Please don't eat me alive, Mrs. Umbreon_..."

"Oh...Well, I don't see why not."

Dawn almost flipped over in her chair. "I...I can?"

"Of course! I'll trust Umbreon if you do!" she laughed. "I can start cleaning out the spare room a bit later today."

"Really, thank you, but I couldn't ask for an entire room. I can't bother you that much. I'll just sleep on your couch," Dawn blushed, insistent on being modest.

"Oh, that's nonsense! I've been meaning to clean that room out anyway...Umbreon, before you go, do you have any idea where Nuclear's chew toy ended up?"

"Nuclear?" Dawn repeated.

"Chew toy...Why would you need that?" Dusk ignored both of their questions.

"Well, if you're busy, I won't explain everything now. It's pretty long."

"Right. Thanks. I'll call you tonight!"

"You'd better. Love you, sweetie! Goodbye, Dawn," Johanne hung up.

"Chew toy?" Dusk asked to nobody in particular.

"Nuclear?!" Dawn shouted again, hoping to get her question answered.

"Nuclear was our, uhm...pet Growlithe, I guess. We found him on the street one night, and decided to care of him ourselves. Then, a few years later, we thought that we had my father tracked down, and Nuclear went with the exploration team to help find him. The team came back fine, but..."

The shine in Dawn's eyes dimmed. "Oh, I-I'm sorry...I didn't know."

"We're actually just hoping that he found his actual Trainer, but I suppose the odds of that happening aren't very big..."

Dawn shot up from the chair. "I know! We'll find it!"

"...You can't be serious," Dusk accused.

"No, really!"

"Dawn, how are we supposed to find a Growlithe that we don't even know is alive anymore? And what if he did find his Trainer, and they took him to another country?"

"Well, we're going to need something to do after we rescue Monkey..."

"Won't you be training to be a Coordinator after this?"

"Not every waking minute! But...If you don't want to search for him, that's fine too. We'll find something else."

Dusk smiled. "Thank you."

Dawn hugged him, though it was much more friendly than romantic. There were just a few too many people in the building to give them a show. "We need to find Wizard now."

"Let's wait 'til May gets done. She should know where he ran off to."

Dawn stepped away from the hug. "Dusk, could you excuse me?"

"Uh..." Dawn's politeness off-set Dusk for a moment. "Sure. Where are you off to?"

"I want to ask the nurse if she'll fix my cast. Torched pink isn't really my color." Dawn started walking towards the counter. "Don't blow any buildings up without me!"

"..._Wonder if Nuclear really is still out there somewhere_," Dusk pondered.

-----------------------

"Did you know that Umbreon has a Cyndaquil as well?" May asked.

"Really? Hey, if his ever evolves into a Typhlosion, we should compare!"

Overhearing the conversation, Dusk walked over and put his hands on May's shoulders, getting a clean shot at the monitor. "He will one of these days."

"Oh, hi, Umbreon!" May mentioned, having not noticed him until that.

Becoming impatient, Dusk asked May his question before she was finished on the phone. "Hey, May, any idea where Wizard ran off to?"

"Wizard?" Max spoke through the screen.

"Wizard is Umbreon's other Pokémon. It's an adorable Pikachu! Seriously, it's even cuter than Ash's..." she finished in a lower volume for some reason.

"Wow," her brother stated, looking genuinely impressed. "Now that's cute."

Dusk scratched his cheek, thinking this subject was going a bit farther than it should be. "Yeah..."

"Anyway, Wizard was tired, so I reserved two rooms for us tonight and just laid him on one of the beds. As far as I know, he's still sleeping," May answered.

"Thanks." Dusk dashed off to go find his friend.

"Just between you and me, isn't it a little weird to say something like 'Umbreon's Pokémon'?" Max wondered.

"It's a little strange at first, but you get used to it," May giggled, having had this thought cross her mind a few times already. "Listen, Max, I should probably go. When will you be leaving for Orre?"

"I'll probably wait until you come home first, sis. That, or Dad's Spoink starts flying, whichever comes first."

"I'll talk to you then, Max..."

"Remember, watch those legendaries!" Max warned.

The conversation ended. May was happy to have seen her brother after all this time, though she still wished that she could have talked to her mother. She stood up and decided to find out what Brendan was up to.

Before she could get far, Brendan stood up from his own seat and started walking to her.

"Oh, Brendan! Who did you call?"

"You'll see. Where's the other two?"

"Umbreon's looking for Wizard, and I'm not sure where Dawn is..."

"Oh. Well, we'll wait until they get here."

"...Come on! Who'd you call?" May begged, bouncing up and down in excitement like a child.

--------------------

Time passed, and Dawn finally exited from the hallway behind the counter where the nurse had taken her. When she saw May and Brendan waiting, she picked up speed and dashed over to them. Her old cast was taken straight off and was replaced by another one. The cast was a darker shade of pink than her last one had been, but the difference wasn't much. "Hey, guys!"

"Oh, you got a new cast?" May observed. "Again, I really am sorry about that..."

Dawn inwardly smiled. "_Dusk and I really are going to be together a long time, aren't we?"_

"Your arm wasn't burned, was it?" May continued.

She lifted the cast up. "Er...There was a small red mark near it...But it's alright, May! Don't worry about it! The nurse just put a bit of lotion on it, and said it'll be fine in a few days."

"Oh...Well, that's good..." May stated quietly, Dawn's words not having much effect on her confidence.

They were interrupted when the side door opened. Dusk was on the other side, holding Wizard in one hand and covering his right eye in the other. He walked over to the team after kicking the door shut.

"Umbreon, is something wrong?" May asked.

Dawn grabbed the arm covering his eye and pulled it away. Behind it was a blood-shot eye. "Dusk, were you...crying?"

"No! I thought I'd give Wizard a bath before we headed to Galactic's place, and this genius got the brilliant idea that it'd be funny to splash me with the soapy water..."

"Pika, chu, chu." Wizard didn't feel guilty in the least. It looked like he was going to start laughing soon.

"Well, I suppose I'll take five out of six of your eyes," Brendan stated, clearing his throat afterwards. "Dawn, Umbry, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine. May, I think you should remember 'em just fine..." He lifted up a Pokéball, causing it to blast open in an explosion of brightness.

"...Meta."

The Sinnoh Trainers blinked at the creature before them. May smiled, her face turning somewhat pink.

"Guys, this is my old buddy, Metagross. I had good ol' Birch send it over here to give us a hand," Brendan explained.

The gigantic Steel-type Pokémon of destruction grinned at the remaining three Trainers. "Meta, gross."

"Pikachu, Pika!" Wizard responded.

"Sceptile's the best, but I thought I'd bring back a few memories for May and myself, not to mention that the extra backup won't hurt. Well, May? Say hello!"

May blushed. "Hello, Metagross."

Dusk and Dawn were confused. "Why's Metagross so important to you two?" Dawn wondered.

"Well, that's simple," Brendan smirked shamelessly, resting his hand on Metagross. "May beat me in the finals of the first Contest we entered. Here's something I didn't get to tell you, Dawn. She wasn't so lucky the next time."

Dawn gasped. Brendan had been periodically telling her the story of how the two met, but he never got to that part yet. "Brendan beat you?"

May, still blushing, nodded.

"Hey, whoa, now there's an insult. I happen to be a decent Coordinator too, you know," Brendan modestly defended. "Anyway, it was all because of Metagross that..." His voice trailed away as he also began blushing. "Well, uh..."

"...What's wrong?" Dawn asked, noticing the two acting rather strangely.

May finally remembered how to talk again. "I promised Brendan, that, if, uhm...If he beat me in that Contest battle, I'd..." May gulped. It was hard for her to hide how embarrassed she was about the situation. "I'd kiss him. In the middle of the arena."

Dusk wore a grin that grew steadily, though he stayed quiet. Dawn, however, didn't quite get it. "What's wrong with that? Weren't you two--"

May shook her head.

Dawn finally understood where the embarrassment was coming from. She actually shuddered, thinking of how awkward that had to have been.

"The only other time we had even seen each other before that was in the first Contest battle," Brendan explained, somewhat unnecessarily. "It was definitely...different, for the both of us, but it was important, too."

May's face cooled down. "...In a way, it helped turn our rivalry into a friendship, and then, uhm..."

"...And she began traveling around with me, and we eventually couldn't keep our paws off 'a each other."

"You could have been a bit less blunt..." May said under her breath.

"Just tellin' it like it is. But enough history for now. Let's move to math. What does four pissed teenagers, plus a crime syndicate that's lost all of their marbles, multiplied by a Pikachu who owns its Trainer equal?"

Dawn put her arm around Dusk's neck, reaching all the way to his other shoulder. "One less building in Veilstone City once Dusk gets done with it," she answered.

"Correct!" Brendan recalled Metagross and left. Dawn quickly chased after him, leaving the other two slightly behind.

May giggled. "I think you've officially been titled our team's bomb expert."

"I wouldn't mind that title so much if I had a utility belt full of grenades," Dusk mentioned, finally getting the last of the soap out of his eye.

--------------------------

"So you two actually became friends because of the kiss?" Dawn asked Brendan, making sure they were far enough ahead of the other two so she didn't embarrass him any further.

"Pretty much, I guess," Brendan laughed. "Just can't believe I've known May for the past four years..."

Dawn sighed. "I wish I could watch you two fight in a Contest battle some day..."

"Well, why can't you? I'm sure we can set up a little something after we're all done here..."

Dawn's eyes shined. "R-Really?"

Brendan put his hand on Dawn's head. He found something amusing about doing that. "Anything for a fellow Coordinator, right?"

Her glance turned to the road as she daydreamed about her goal. "I want to be just as good as May..."

Brendan _sweatdropped_ at the lack of appreciation. "May's good, but I don't want you taking right after her. She's gone easy on me in more than one battle, and I hate it when she does that. Always bring everything you've got to the table in every Contest, alright?"

"I will! Thanks, Brendan!"

"No problem. Now, just one thing. Where are we going?"

Brendan's words caused Dawn to stop and look around at their surroundings. She realized that they had been walking blind, unsure of where the Galactic building was. "Maybe we should have, uhm...let...Dusk lead the way..."

"Yeah, that might have been nice," Brendan agreed.

They stopped and waited for their friends to catch up.

"Any idea where we're going, MapQuest?" Brendan asked upon Dusk stepping up to them. "I was going to ask my GPS, but figured that if I told it 'Criminal Organization,' it would have just led me to Wal-Mart."

Dusk raised his index finger and pointed at a large warehouse farther north from where they were. "If I could take a guess..."

They walked towards the direction until they reached a flight of stairs. The amount of steps was atleast one hundred, if not more.

"Alright, is this really necessary?" Brendan whined. "Who needs a building that high up?"

Dusk began the charge up the stairs. "Team Galactic, apparently."

Dawn winced, forcing herself to follow him. "_Come on, I just want to get this over with_..."

Brendan cleared his throat. "See? This is what happens when a syndicate is led by women. They always worry about their weight so much, they pull some stunt like--"

Dawn swung her handbag into Brendan's face. "Your sexism is the last thing I feel like dealing with right now," the injurer noted out loud.

Dusk chuckled. "Word of advice. Avoid the Pokéballs."

"Yep...I'll remember that..." The Hoenn Trainer rubbed his nose, hoping to relieve some of the pain.

"Pikachu!" Wizard, as always, threw in his opinion at the end of the conversation.

After alot of complaining about how long the stairs were, most of which was from Brendan, they finally reached the top. The team turned around and looked back at the city. Since they were so high up, the view was spectacular.

"...Alright, enough stalling. I want my Pokémon--huh?" Dusk turned around to the building. When he did, his eyes met with the backs of two people that were staring into the building themselves.

Dawn looked at Dusk. He had a rather angry expression on his face. "Calm down, Dusk...I mean, I'm sure they're allies, right?..." When her friend's expression didn't change much, Dawn's head lowered. "_...Right?_"

Failing at reading the others' true motives himself, the Sinnoh Trainer turned his eyes to Wizard. He knew that if something was up with them, Wizard could sense it.

The Pokémon didn't move. He was in a defensive stance, and his gaze never turned from the strangers. Still, he showed no signs of attacking them.

Dusk thought for a second before speaking. "Let's go," he finally said.

The team made their way over to the two. They only managed to take a couple steps, however, until one of them turned their head and looked at them. For the few seconds that the team had to look at the human head before it turned back around to the building, they found it to be a female.

Dawn, once again, glanced at Dusk, specifically at the fist he had recently created. "_I wonder if Dusk likes those gloves...Ugh! No! I can't wander off now!_" Not thinking about any consequences, she slapped herself in the face. It made May and Brendan look at her, but they didn't say anything. Dusk was too preoccupied with the people in front of them to even notice Dawn.

Umbreon cleared his throat before verbally addressing them. "Excuse me? Could I ask...what you're doing?"

"You could. And you just did. Now what?" the opposite one from before responded. The tone of the voice made it easy to tell it was a male.

Dusk ran his teeth across his lip before continuing. "We kinda need to get in there. Would you mind...moving?"

This made the two quickly spin around. The male, who wasn't much shorter than Brendan, only looked about fifteen years of age. He had reflective sunglasses on, blocking out any readings the Trainers could get from them. He wore something similar to a police suit, though he was no officer. Around his waist was a utility belt packed with grenades, guns, and a few other weapons, traditional or otherwise.

The girl was about the same height as Dawn and didn't look any older than fourteen. She had long black hair that extended all the way to her lower back. Unlike her well-equipped partner, she wore only a red dress with black pants, with no weapons making any kind of appearance. The team assumed, however, that she was probably packing heat somewhere.

"Did you just say you're going into this building?" the man questioned.

"Yeah, and we also said we need you to move," Brendan recalled.

"You be quiet." From underneath his sunglasses, the man shot a cold stare at Brendan. He returned his attention to Dusk. "Look, kid. Don't, alright? This building is owned by Team Galactic, and a few kids with a love of headwear won't be stopping them."

"You're one to talk, buddy!" Brendan declared, losing his cool. "Who do you think you are, anyway?"

May put her hand on his shoulder and began massaging it, hoping to relax him.

"We're plumbers, and we just got a call that Galactic needs some crap cleaned out. The longer you bug us, the less work we can get done."

The female remained silent.

"That's a little funny," Brendan smirked. "We're electricians, and we got our own appointment with them. Maybe we should team up and get the job done in double time?"

"I don't think so. We don't really play well with others."

Dusk spoke up, knowing he had to before Brendan made anything worse. "Either we do this together, or we split up. I don't care, but we're getting inside that building!"

"...You aren't going to let this go, are you?" The boy turned around, giving them his back again. "Name's Kartock. This is Ashley."

Dawn felt her heart stop beating. "..._A-Ash...Ashley?_"

Dusk noticed his companion wasn't blinking, or barely even breathing. He put his hand on her shoulder. This caused her to turn to him, her face exuding nervousness and confusion. Dusk closed his eyes and shook his head. She turned her eyes to the road and sighed. "_...I know, Dusk._" She craned her head back up and focused on the situation at hand.

"There's two entrances that lead to other rooms in this dump," Kartock explained, not caring what any of their names were. "One's an elevator on the right side, and the other's a doorway on the other. We obviously can't tell what's past them from here. You four take the doorway. Ashley and I will take whatever comes out of that elevator. It's also safe to assume that there's stairs that lead to wherever that elevator does somewhere inside the doorway...When you beat back enough ground, get up the stairs, and we'll rendezvous from there."

They all exchanged looks with each other. They didn't need to explain to each other how many things could go wrong. Kartock and Ashley not being who they said they were was at the top of the list. They also silently considered how much better it would be if they didn't have to split their own team up.

Dusk broke the silence that had fallen. "Fine. We'll be counting on you."

"Not as much as we'll be counting on you. Before we start, I just want to remind you of one thing...See this pistol, here?" Kartock took a weapon out if its holster and made sure the team could see it properly. "I haven't had to use this thing in almost six months...Let's keep the record going, hm?" He reinserted the gun into its case and walked through the doors, which acted much like the PokéCenter's.

Ashley looked up and down the team one last time before she followed him.

Dawn brushed at the pavement below her feet. "So..." she began out loud, her voice meek and shy. "Her name's actually Ashley, huh?"

May and Brendan glanced at each other. Before they could ask or say anything, Dusk cut them both off.

"Dawn. Remember what we talked about. We can run through any questions you have tonight, but right now, I really need you with me. Understand?"

"...I hope so, Dusk..."

For a second time, the Hoenn Trainers looked at each other. Though they were missing something about this subject, they knew that now was a bad time to ask about it.

After each taking a deep breath, the entire team entered into what they hoped was their final destination.


	14. Bringing the Galaxy Down to Earth, Pt2

Peace and love were all that filled the air. There wasn't a whole lot more scenery in the room than what had already been decided: a door on the left, an elevator on the right, and a large counter to separate the two. Insignificant plants were dotting the side walls of the room, sprucing up the otherwise bland decor.

Kartock was tapping his sunglasses out of boredom. After hearing the doors open up a second time, he decided to start conversation, again, without turning around. "What? No greeter? I already hate this place. "

Brendan stepped forward, taking the lead position of their team. "Yeah, what kind of evil organization doesn't send somebody out to shake our hands, eh?"

"Sir..." Ashley began, finally blessing the other Trainers with the sound of her voice. Despite her firm posture, the tone of Ashley's voice was calm, dark, and almost unrealistically depressing. "I feel there is...something not quite right."

"Not surprised." Kartock folded his arms. "Ashley and I will proceed as planned. We'll be expecting you to do the same." As if it was the most casual thing in the world, Kartock walked forward and called the elevator with a button that was attached to the wall.

"...It is not that I care very much about your opinion. However, if you are curious, I speak as I do simply because it is how I was raised." Ashley stepped after her partner, who was waiting in front of a now-open elevator door.

"She must hold a good conversation," Brendan mused after Ashley stepped out of hearing range. "After we get through here, I'd love to talk some politics with her."

"Whatever. We can't worry about that. Let's see what's in this room!" Unexpectedly taking charge, May dashed towards the open door. Brendan, then Dusk quickly followed.

"_One thing's for sure...The name is the only thing that sounds like my sister. I could never get her to shut up on some days..._" She sighed, coming to the realization that she was doing what she was told not to do so many times. She chased after her friends.

They expected to see a hallway, or, as Kartock had guessed, stairs. Instead, however, they saw a room that was much too familiar to Dusk. The room they were in looked exactly like the room that he had fought Mars in. Computer monitors were pasted all around the room, seemingly higher in number than Mars had used.

From the gates of irony themselves, a tall woman, with much the same get-up as Mars, stood in the middle of the room, with her back turned. The only difference was her long, blonde hair.

The girl sighed. "It's about time you idiots showed up. Who're your friends out there? I don't remember Mars telling me anything about them..."

Dusk furrowed an eyebrow. "Mars is still alive?"

"Of course she is!" the woman laughed. "You honestly thought that something as trivial as an exploding building would stop her? Maybe I dreamed of something like that once or twice, but it'd never actually happen in reality."

It was Dawn's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You want Mars dead? She's on your side..."

Hand on hip, the woman smirked mercilessly at the face below the blue hair. "A small price to pay to relieve myself of an annoying, jealous sister. Anyway, I'm sure you're all just dying to know my name. Please do call me Commander Venus. It's so attractive!" Venus spun around, causing her long blonde hair that was tied into a pony-tail to jump in the wind. Her eyes were just as devious as the other Galactic Commander's were.

Brendan leaned over to May and whispered to her. "You think they're named after planets because their minds are lost in space?"

She couldn't resist a small giggle.

Venus stroked her chin. "Let's just skip the introduction. We'll just pretend that you've ran through your whole 'I want the Pokémon back' thing, and I already ran through my 'oh no you didn't' thing. Okay?"

"But if we do that, then you won't have any time to call in for backup," Brendan mentioned. "Four against one isn't very fun."

"Oh, you know something? You're right. You're absolutely right. Here, I'll make things a little more even." Within the time frame of a second, Venus reached into her pocket and pulled out a throwing knife. Before anybody could physically react to it, she shot it at an incredible speed. Not surprising with her luck, the knife was on a collision course with Dawn's cranium.

The girl, paralyzed by fear, barely managed to shut her eyes and whimper.

Seconds passed.

"...Oh?" Venus said, amused. "This is kind of cute."

After a few moments of not feeling anything, along with Venus's remark, Dawn slowly forced her eyelids open. She was greeted by nothing but blackness, except the yellow-threaded word "Starstriker." After figuring out what just happened, she gasped and looked to her side.

Dusk stood there, his arm extended in front of Dawn's face. His head was pointed at the floor. After a moment of standing still, the boy finally lowered his arm, allowing Dawn to see what was fairly obvious at this point: the knife, stuck inside Dusk's glove.

Dusk suddenly jerked his head up and shot a grin straight at Venus. "It's a little funny. For a second, I thought I had something to worry about. Now that I know that your Pokémon aren't strong enough to win battles, I'm thinking you had better call the Veilstone fire station now."

"What do you mean, not strong enough?!" Venus shouted. "I could beat the crap out of Mars if I wanted to. You punks don't scare me much m--"

"If you have to resort to physically killing us," Dusk began explaining, simultaneously yanking the knife out of his glove. "obviously that means that you're scared to lose to our Pokémon, which must mean that they aren't strong. You'd rather defend your pride, and your current status, rather than fight this honorably...Like Mars did."

"Who in the world do you suppose you are?!" The Commander flipped, concentrating on nothing but his last sentence. "You **dare** put me lower than Mars?!"

"Sure, she might have pulled a few tricks on me, but she never sunk as low as trying to kill me." Dusk's eyes fell behind his beret again, but his smile remained obvious. "Now, why don't you call for your little back-up so we can start this."

The rest of the team was completely awed. They stared at Umbreon, unable to fully comprehend how he had deduced all of that.

"Umbry? You doing all right over there?" Brendan wondered.

Instead of questioning him, Dawn was too busy pacing herself. "D-Dusk...You...saved my life..."

"Are you kidding? If you didn't give me these gloves, that would have hurt alot more than it did," Dusk replied, staring at the forgettable cut that was sliced into the glove.

"_Wow. Pretty impressive for gloves that cost seven bucks_," Dawn thought, forcing herself to calm down.

Venus began laughing. "Well, you two. I suppose you're busted."

"Is that so? Well, listen...Is that a really annoying voice I hear?" a voice from inside the vents on the ceiling asked.

"It's blabbering to me unfortunately clear..." another voice answered.

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"Bringing neck breaks at a breakneck pace..."

"...Dashing hope, putting the twerps in its place!"

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet..."

"...When everything's worse, our work is complete!"

One of the vents on the ceiling got kicked in, causing a red-haired woman to fall down on top of a mouse pad. "Jessie!"

On the other side of the room, the same thing happened. The man landed one foot on the top of a monitor, and the other on the desk. "And, James!"

"Putting people who blow up our factories in their place..."

"Team Rocket..."

"We're in your face!" They pointed at the team.

It was no more than a split second after they had finished that the Sinnoh Trainers shot a glance at each other. Brendan opened his mouth to get in a wisecrack, but was beaten to the punch.

"Listen...Is that a few idiots I hear?" Dawn wondered, turning to her side and closing her eyes.

"They're yelling at me for reasons unclear..." Dusk answered, getting back-to-back with Dawn.

Dawn pumped a fist into the air. "On the breeze!"

Her partner mimicked her action. "Past the shopping mall!"

"And in your ear!" they yelled simultaneously, bringing their arms down to point at Team Rocket.

Dawn closed her eyes again, combining her hands into a prayer-like ball. "Bringing good-will at a neck-breaking pace..."

"...Dashing the tacked-on bad guys, and putting someone else in your place!" the boy continued, pushing the brim of his beret upwards.

"Pokémon under any other Trainer are alot better than yours..."

"...Our motto's so much better, you'll wish it's how you'd done yours!"

"Dawn!" she exclaimed, pointing at Jessie.

Umbreon did the same to James. "And Dusk!"

Dawn bent down on a single knee. For a third time, she closed her eyes. "Putting the people who work in those factories in their place..."

Dusk swung his arm to the side, grinning without compassion at the completely-winded opposing team. "Team Missile..."

"We're in your face!" both screamed.

"PI PIKACHU!" Wizard added after a quick leap into the air.

Brendan was the only person in the entire room that didn't stare blankly at the surprisingly-proud Sinnoh Trainers. He was too busy being on his knees, suffocating from laughing so hard.

Jessie suddenly grabbed James by the collar and started shaking him mercilessly. "James! How dare they steal our motto?! That's the only thing that sets us apart!"

"Jessie, hold on..." James stopped himself from getting bullied. "You have to wonder...It took us an entire season to come up with that motto, but they've only known it for a few days, and they already modified almost every line..."

Jessie delivered a quick smack to him."You're not supposed to agree with this!"

"But, hold on...!" James leaned over and whispered something into Jessie's ear.

"...What?"

"Well, it was just a thought..."

"...I suppose that motto wasn't so bad..." Jessie complimented quietly, shooting an awkward glare at the Sinnoh Trainers, who were chuckling between themselves. "But to have them work on ours is insulting! We've been creating our own motto since day one! It'll ruin the tradition of sitting down to a candle-lit steak, fresh vegetables on the side, spring water filling the professional glasses at our table..."

"...But Jessie, we never did any of that stuff when we made our--"

"Be quiet!" Jessie smacked him one more time before turning to the team. "All right, look here, twerps! We--huh?" Her eyes shifted over to the oldest female in the other group. "Hey...Don't I know you?"

May was tapping her foot on the ground. Her arms were crossed over her chest. The rest of the team had never seen her so angry. "Yeah, you do. I think I was twerp number four, if I remember right. Then again, it's been eight years, so what do I know?"

Brendan pulled himself together, though he had to admit it was hard after what Dusk and Dawn just pulled. "May? You know these two?"

"_Eight...years ago?_" Dawn thought.

"...YOU!" Jessie exclaimed, stepping backwards. "Now I remember you! You were the one wandering around with the twerp with...the...Pikachu..." Her gaze slowly turned to Wizard.

Wizard blinked. "...Pika?"

"Brendan, I'm sorry I never told you...Four years before we met each other, when I got my first Pokémon, I ended up traveling around Hoenn with somebody named Ash...We were teammates for a few years until we drifted into different directions..."

Dawn was still confused. "_Four years before they met each other...But they met each other four years ago...May's been a Trainer for eight years?_" She stared at May curiously, though she knew that this was a bad time to ask about it.

Brendan wasn't really sure what he was supposed to say. "Oh..."

"...And these two kept bugging us all the time!" May growled, her eyes locked onto Team Rocket.

The pair cringed at the sudden attack.

James finally dusted off his shoulder. "We were simply following orders...If you didn't keep insisting that you keep your Pokémon, we would have gotten out of your way alot sooner than we did!"

"Some people just have too much nerve..." Jessie stated, slowly reaching for a Pokéball.

"Well, isn't this just marvelous!" Venus started clapping. Everybody's attention quickly went to her. "Since we're all old friends, this is so great! You have so much catching up to do, I'm sure..."

"Oh, we're something, all right..." May cursed under her breath.

"I have an idea...Since forcing only one of us to fight each other would ruin the memories for all of us, why don't we go all-out?" Venus asked, a wide smirk on her face.

Dusk moaned. He was getting tired of making propositions before battles.

"Jessie, James and I will fight you four...at once!" she giggled.

Dawn leaned in toward her friend, making sure to keep her volume low. "Dusk...That means there's going to be seven, maybe even eight Pokémon on the field at once. We can't deal with all that!"

After thinking for a second, Dusk glanced at May. "May...You know these two better than us. Have they tried this stunt before?"

May never lifted her eyes away from Team Rocket, only occasionally giving even Venus a glance. "...They don't fight honorably, I know that!"

"_Jun and I tore them down once, and we could probably do it again_..." Dawn smiled to herself. "_It'd probably be fun to do it again, actually..._" After a moment of listening to herself, she sighed. She looked over at her teammates. "_What am I saying? We're more than enough to take these dingbats down ourselves..._"

Dusk fell into deep thought again. Before long, however, he looked at the Hoenn Trainers. "May...Brendan...Take Team Rocket out."

Upon hearing that, James turned to his partner. "Jessie...The twerp beat us all the time back in Hoenn...Eight years later, don't you think she only got stronger?"

Jessie slapped him on the back of the head. "Shut up!"

"Dawn and I will take Venus down," Dusk finished.

Venus started stamping her foot on the ground. "What?! You don't like my idea?!"

May smiled. "You can count on us, Umbreon!"

Brendan enlarged a red- and white-colored ball. "Yeah, I'll show these freaks for messin' with my girl!"

May slightly blushed. "Er, really, it was nothing..." she said to herself, unable to find the courage to voice it any louder.

"Jessie, I really hate to be a bother, but I think we're screwed--"

"Stop it!" Jessie slapped him again.

May smirked. "You've become even more violent in your old age, Jessie..."

The female Team Rocket member quickly shook her fist at the red bandana-clad opponent in front of her. "I am not old! I don't grow old, got it?! I hit twenty and stopped!"

Even May didn't realize how much Brendan was rubbing off on her. "Is that what all those wrinkles are for?"

"Ugh...You be quiet, too! Seviper, let's eat them alive!" Jessie launched a Pokéball.

"Cacnea, I got people who hate me on one side, and a person who keeps hitting me on the other...and I can't tell which is which! Please protect me!" James almost started crying as he released his own Pokémon.

Meanwhile, Dusk and Dawn were looking each other in the eyes. As hard as it was, they refused to get lost in the moment.

"Dawn...Are you ready?"

"...Y-Yes! Let's beat down Team Galactic once and for all!"

Dusk didn't like the way she stuttered, but the rest of her sentence was confident enough to boost his own morale. He broke the look the two had with each other and turned to Venus.

Dawn sighed, though she hoped her partner hadn't heard it. "_Please keep us safe_," she prayed.

"Double battle. We win, you release the Pokémon. You win, you get to re-shoot that knife at me, but this time, I take the gloves off."

Dawn shut her eyes and jerked her head the other way. She didn't want to cry now. "_Dusk, don't risk your life for this_..."

Venus chuckled. "I see that you know how Team Galactic takes to people like you...Of course, I'll also be taking all of your Pokémon if I win."

Dusk looked at Dawn. Her head was still low. "_If Dusk dies, it's not like I could enjoy training Pokémon anymore anyway_..."

"...Dawn, if your mind is worried about too much right now, just back down. I can take her on myself."

Slowly, Dawn shook her head. "No..." She took a heavy grip on a Pokéball. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get a bit of glory for beating Galactic too."

Dusk grabbed a Pokéball of his own. "Spotlight's plenty big enough for both of us."

"Oh, I hate the over-confident heroes..." Venus thought out loud. "They're so boring. I'd rather have the ones who doubt themselves a little. They're much cuter. On top of that, they don't take defeat so harshly. It really is a win for everybody. Anyways, regarding the rules of this match, how about you two just use one Pokémon each, and I'll just bring out two? I really don't have much time to spend with you today...Business and that. You understand."

"Of course we do." Dusk turned to his already-loose Pokémon. "Wizard, do you mind just hanging out for this battle?"

"Pi," he answered with a shake of his head.

"Bandana, you go ahead and release your Pokémon first. Then I'll shoot in my two, and finally beret over there can show his. Just like an official Double Battle tournament!" Venus giggled, somehow amusing herself.

"_Dusk is obviously going to use Moonite, since that's the only other Pokemon he has...I want to let Charmy stretch his feet, but maybe he's expecting me to use Sunnite_..." Dawn looked over at her partner. He was just smiling at her, not an ounce of worry on his face. "_Maybe...he doesn't even care?_"

Dawn looked at the Pokéball in her hand and gulped. "_I hope Charmy wouldn't feel pressured...There's alot riding on this battle, and he might get scared, then it'd be my fault if we lose...No! We can't lose! I can't let Dusk get hurt! _Let's go, Charmy!" Dawn finally stopped reasoning with herself and decided to just go with who she felt was right. She swatted her hand through the air while releasing the ball, causing it to spin sideways as it entered the battlefield.

The ball exploded, revealing Dawn's very first Pokémon. "...Plup!" Charmy winked, eccentric to finally be out of his Pokéball.

Dawn quickly looked back at Dusk again. He had turned his head to Venus, but he was still smiling. His expression comforted her a bit.

Venus laughed. "Well, that cute little guy will be tough to beat. Rolling over its tiny little body will just break my heart!"

"Piplup." Charmy put his hands on his hips, impatiently waiting for Venus to release her Pokémon.

She lifted up two Pokéballs and shot them into the air above her. "Skuntank. Raticate. We got work to do."

One of them contained the Normal-type, fur-ruffled Raticate. It's mixture of plain brown fur with plain cream fur made it a boring Pokémon to look at. It had long fangs, however, that looked rock-splitting sharp. The other Pokémon was a Skuntank. To compliment its unkempt fur, it smelled atrocious.

"This battle's...going to be longer than I thought," Dusk decided unenthusiastically. His eyes were starting to water at the stench that was quickly filling the room.

"Ugh...Now I have to take a shower before we go out tonight, Umbreon!" Dawn whined as she covered her nose with the sleeve of her shirt.

Brendan instantly turned his head to the other battle. "Out?"

Dawn blushed. She had forgotten that there were any other people in the room. "Um..."

Dusk quickly cut in before the conversation got worse. "Light a match, Moonite!"

He released his Pokémon, only for him to also cower from the unpleasant aroma. Knowing he had to protect his Trainer, Moonite shook it off the best he could and stood proudly next to his penguin partner.

Dawn leaned over and whispered something to Dusk. He nodded, and they returned to standing up straight, ready to start the battle.

"Two unevolved Pokémon...This will either be interesting, or incredibly boring. All right, Skuntank, let's use Sludge B--"

"Wait!" Dusk interrupted. "Before we start, we want to open up with a joke."

Venus slapped herself in the face. "You have simply got to be kidding me..."

Dawn continued from where Dusk left off. "All right, what happens when I say, 'Charmy, use Water Gun on Skuntank'?"

"I don't know. What?" Venus groaned, uninterested and wanting to fight.

Charmy, hearing the command, sprayed a fast-flowing stream of water out of his mouth, straight at the Poison- and Dark-type Pokémon. Not receiving a command to do anything else, the attack hit Skuntank dead-on, causing it to launch back and slam into the edge of a table.

"That!" Dawn answered.

Venus gasped, looking back at the Skuntank that had just flown past her. "That wasn't fair!"

"You try to kill Dawn, and you whine about what's fair?" Dusk asked.

"Besides, I only did that to help get rid of the smell...Your Skuntank barely looks hurt," Dawn mentioned, though she didn't even say it loud enough for Venus to hear her.

"Ugh...Get back here!" Venus snapped at her Pokémon. "Worthless thing...Now if we're all done having fun, Skuntank, Sludge Bomb! Raticate, Hyper Fang!"

May and Brendan turned to watch the battle going on beside them. Charmy and Moonite were doing a good job avoiding the opponent's attacks, but they couldn't find an opening to go on the offensive.

"Brendan...they're going to be all right, won't they?"

"Hey! You got your own battle to worry about, twerp!" Jessie shouted.

Brendan ignored the threat. "Of course they will be. After all, we've been hanging around them for the past week. I think just a little bit of our skill had to rub off by now."

May giggled. "I hope you're right..."

"Hello...?" James asked.

"I know that Moonite's powerful, but I'm just worried about Dawn's Charmy...Maybe she used it against Team Galactic back in Eterna, but even so, it still hasn't been in many battles yet..."

"What about when she fought you?" Brendan asked.

"Oh, that's right!" May exclaimed. "I forgot about that. Charmy used Bide on Torchic, and...and..."

"May? What's wrong?"

"Brendan! That's it!" Since Dusk was in her way from seeing Dawn, May stepped back a bit so she could look at her other Sinnoh friend. "Dawn! I think I know why Torchic is mad at you!"

"I'm deeply sorry, but perhaps this could wait until sometime after we blast off at the speed of light, yes?" James pleaded.

Dawn turned her head from the battle. "What is it, May?"

"When you used Bide on Torchic, she must have--"

Venus put her index and middle fingers in her mouth and let out a loud whistle. It howled through the entire building. "That's just about enough for now. You'll have plenty of time to chat at your friend's funeral."

Dawn cocked her head to the side. "Hey, Venus, want to play shadow?"

Dusk silently turned his head to the side to look at his partner, shocked that she would give such a random question.

"Shadow?" she blinked.

"Shadow?" Dawn blinked too.

"Don't start with me!" Venus raised a fist into the air.

"Don't start with me!" Dawn mimicked.

"Skuntank, shut her up with Night Slash!"

"Skuntank, shut her up with Night Slash!"

"Stop it!"

"Stop it!" Dawn smiled, biting her lip in hopes of repressing it.

"_Dawn's so much more relaxed in this battle than I'd thought she'd be..._" Dusk thought to himself. "_Good. I need it that way_."

The Pokémon, confused by receiving two orders, didn't do anything.

"Skuntank, I said use Night Slash!" Venus yelled.

"Charmy, I said use Bide!"

"Don't repeat what I--huh?"

The battle commenced. Charmy lowered his head and closed his eyes, falling into deep concentration. Meanwhile, Skuntank began prancing around the entire arena, trying to confuse Charmy where its attack was coming from. After jumping about, Skuntank landed on Piplup's side, and after lifting one of its paws up, gave a sharp slash to Charmy, straight down the side of his head. Charmy, though clearly hit, wasn't fazed.

"Fire it right back, Charmy!"

The penguin did as he was told. His eyes pushed open, revealing a heavenly-white blaze inside of them. He turned to Skuntank. While quadruple the size of him, Skuntank was immediately frozen stiff upon receiving the cold glare that Charmy gave it. He opened his mouth and launched the same massive beam at Skuntank that he did at Torchic just a few days ago. It wasn't quite as big, as he hadn't been hit as much in the process, but it was still enough to do heavy damage. Skuntank was swept up into the beam, and was rammed into James's Cacnea, who had been pounding on Brendan's Metagross unsuccessfully.

Both now being affected by the attack, Skuntank and Cacnea were sent flying through the glass window that rested on the wall, and fell all the way down to the grass outside the building. The glass that they had just shattered through fell on top of them.

"...I think that counts as a double-KO," Dusk mentioned, slightly scared of the attack himself.

"Hey! That wasn't fair! This isn't your fight! I want a rema--"

Jessie smacked the complaining James on the back of the head. "Just shut up and send Weezing out already!"

Venus chuckled. It became laughter, which in turn, became maniacal.

"Why do you people always laugh when you get beat?" Dusk wondered. "Mars did the same thing..."

Venus quickly stopped laughing. "I really don't know. The Boss told me to do it if any of my Pokémon ever got beaten, but he never really explained why. In any case, I'll have you know that I'm still far from beaten. You're not as useless as that Skuntank, are you, dear?" She bent down to her remaining Pokémon.

Dawn took this moment to whisper something else to Dusk.

"...Charmy wouldn't mind?"

"He's already weak, and I don't really want him to battle much longer anyway...And since I can't substitute Pokémon, I'm also not allowed to recall Charmy unless he faints...I don't want to see Charmy get hurt, but I'd rather help you then give that slut the satisfaction of anything!" Dawn shouted, making sure Venus would hear it.

Venus gasped much longer than necessary. "I have a name, you know! ...And no, that isn't it!"

"Please, Dusk?" Dawn begged.

Dusk lowered his beret, not being as confident as Dawn was. "Moonite, use Flamethrower..."

"It's about time! Raticate, dodge, then--" Venus was interrupted.

"Nail Charmy with everything you got!"

This quickly got the other battle's combatant's attention.

"Is Umbreon...going to hurt Charmy?" May almost started shivering from the sudden mutiny. "Umbreon, what are you doing?!" she finally shouted over the tiny distance that separated the two.

"...Cynda?" Moonite and Charmy looked at each other.

Charmy looked back at his Trainer to see her nod to him. He turned back to Moonite. "Pip pip, pip pip Piplup!"

"Quil," he nodded. "Cynda...QUIL!!" Moonite released scorching fire from his mouth, incinerating Piplup.

Dawn closed her eyes and turned her head in order to not have to watch. When she requested Dusk to finish Charmy off, she was unaware of how much it would actually hurt her.

"Piiiiplup..." The penguin stood inside the flames. Even though he was a Water-type, the fire still burned him considerably.

Venus was too stunned to do anything.

Dusk walked over and hugged Dawn. He knew this was hard for her. The newer Trainer waited for her to put her arms around his back to continue.

She had no problem doing so.

Nobody in the room remarked on how close the two were.

Dusk put his hand on Dawn's ear and gently pushed her head into his shoulder further. It helped to block out the sound of Charmy screaming in agony. To his surprise, she was quite calm under the circumstances. Dusk assumed that she was satisfied with being close to him. "Moonite...Finish Charmy with Tackle."

This was beginning to get hard for Moonite. Nonetheless, he followed his Trainer's orders. He halted the Flamethrower, and instead, charged his body into Charmy's neck, causing him to fly through the air and hit a monitor that was plastered on the wall, then tumble to the ground.

Hearing this, Dawn quickly turned around and pointed a Pokéball at her Pokémon. "Charmy, return!"

Dusk started walking away, but Dawn quickly grabbed him again.

"Please don't go!" She tied her arms around Dusk again.

"Um..." At first, Dusk's face started turning red. However, he finally heard Dawn choke a couple times. He let out a small smile, sub-consciously glad that he could use Dawn's crying as a cover-up to hold her. "It's all right..." Dusk strapped his arms behind Dawn's back and began petting it. "I won't leave. Charmy's fine. Remember, Dawn, you did that to help me, too...And I think it worked."

Dawn gasped and turned her head back to the battlefield, though she never moved away from Dusk.

In the middle of the battlefield, Moonite was beginning to evolve. Its body glowed a blinding hue.

Everybody continued watching in silence as the Pokémon slowly morphed. After seconds of empty quietness and wonder, the bright glow dispelled, and Moonite stood, prouder than ever. It looked much the same as the previous incarnation, but was much taller, sleeker, and most importantly of all right now, more powerful.

"Umbreon! That's a Quilava!" May screamed in excitement. "That's so wonderful!"

"Thank you, Dawn..." Dusk continued rubbing her back.

"Any time..." With a sniffle, she fell back onto his chest. "...Well, maybe not. We'll see."

Venus put both arms on her hip. "Hmph. Fine, so now you got a bigger rodent. Would you two mind stepping more than a centimeter away from each other so we can finish this battle?"

Dusk's right arm fell back to its side. His left arm, however, stayed over Dawn's back. "Is our hugging distracting you?" Dusk wondered, not having any intentions on leaving Dawn's side.

"It's making me want to lose that turkey sandwich I just ate...Ugh, fine, whatever. Raticate, Double Edge!" Venus commanded.

"Oh?" It just now hit May what Dusk and Dawn were doing. She smiled, but didn't want to bring any attention to it. Instead, she turned back to Team Rocket. "C'mon, Brendan! We got our own battle to win!"

"Right! That Quilava's awesome, by the way. Good luck, buddy!" Brendan yelled to the newly-evolved Pokémon's Trainer.

James leaned over to Jessie. "That thing would make an excellent present for the Boss, don't you think?"

Jessie returned the comment with a blank stare. "Every time we said something like that ever since we broke into the Viridian City Pokémon Center, a Pikachu always ends up shocking us and sending us flying away, were we usually land on a single branch atop a steep cliff. The branch eventually snaps, and we end up falling down into a forest while the camera zooms in on the sunset and the episode ends. I'm really not too sure what you feel like doing, but I really don't feel like revisiting memories like them again. Or...atleast right now."

James blinked. "Oh...I...guess you're right..."

After an unsuccessful Bite, Venus's Raticate was the first victim of Quilava's Ember. After the embers calmed down, Raticate used a quick Double Team effort to sneak around to Moonite's backside. The rat crushed Moonite with Super Fang. After wiggling free of the Raticate's mouth, however, Moonite smashed into it with a Flame Wheel.

"Ugh! Annoying punk. Counter with Quick Attack, Raticate!" Venus demanded.

"...Hey Venus, want to play shadow?" Dusk smirked. "Counter with Quick Attack, Moonite!"

"I refuse to be defeated by your childish games! Raticate, Crunch!"

"I refuse to be defeated by your childish games! Raticate, Sheer Cold!"

Even though it felt like she was choking on her tears some more, Dawn was actually laughing. She snuggled into Dusk's body farther, somehow finding physical comfort on the human pillow while standing up. "_He's only had his Pokémon for nothing but a few days now, and already it seems like he's had years of experience...He learned this so fast_..." She couldn't stop her own face from turning an unnoticeable tint of red. "..._And he's mine_," she finished with a giggle.

Raticate, much like its last partner, was confused at the two demands.

Venus was getting insulted by this battle. "I'm your Trainer, Raticate, and I said to use Crunch!"

"I'm your Trainer, Raticate, and I said to attack Venus herself!" Dusk had to stop himself from laughing.

"So...You really think this is funny, huh? I'm sorry, I just don't like your sense of humor. I do hope you like mine," she smiled, then hit the same button on her collar that Mars had when she told everybody to retreat. "All units in Veilstone City branch, to room four. All units in Veilstone City branch, to room four. We got ourselves a couple comedians that need to be taken off of the road."

"D-Dusk..." Dawn suddenly clenched onto him tighter. "What's happening?"

Before the so-called Team Missile could say anything else, Kartock and Ashley bashed through the door.

"Uh, yeah, hi," Kartock greeted, sounding rushed.

"Kartock? What's wrong?" Dusk turned around to the suit and asked.

"Let's just say that if we ran a Burger King, and we stopped putting pickles on the Whopper...Behind Ashley and me would be the angry customers."

Venus returned Raticate to its Pokéball. "I'm done here. Jessie, James, let's get out of here."

Team Rocket glanced at each other, then reluctantly followed orders. "R-Right..." they both said. They also whipped out a Pokéball each to recall their Pokémon.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Brendan fumed. "We ain't done yet!"

"Sorry, kids, we'll have to finish our fun little bout some other time. Right now, I'm late for a spa appointment!" Jessie giggled, daydreaming of her relaxing treat.

James waved goodbye to his opponents. "And I'm going to go watch TV, like I always do after an important mission!"

Team Rocket followed Venus over to a door that was otherwise concealed by technical equipment. James shoved it out of the way and all three made their escape.

Brendan and May ran over to Dusk and Dawn, glaring angrily at the door that laid behind Kartock and Ashley. Finally, the latter two moved out of the way, also taking their spot on the other side of the Sinnoh Trainers.

"There's six of us...About six-hundred of them. Ashley, we have no choice." Kartock reached for something on his belt.

Dawn noticed this, broke away from Dusk, and put her hand on Kartock's arm. A surprising amount of determination was in her eyes. She seemed to have completely forgotten about what happened to Charmy. "No. It's not fair to kill them. There has to be another way."

"Well, what do you suggest, friend?" Kartock yelled, not finding amusement in being touched, much less being told what to do.

"Sir, perhaps there is an...alternate path we could take."

Kartock looked at Ashley. Though her head wasn't turned to it, she was looking out the broken window. He turned back to the door to see a flood of guards, nearly ready to crash into the room all at once. "We're two stories up. How are we supposed to walk away from that?"

Ashley turned to a Hoenn Trainer. "Sir...?"

"Brendan," he replied.

"Sir Brendan, you have...Metagross...am I correct?"

He nodded his head slowly. "But landing on a Steel-type Pokémon ain't gonna be much better than landing on pavement..."

Ashley ignored it and turned to the other Hoenn resident. "Miss...?"

"Oh, it's May," she blushed, not ready to be addressed like that.

"Miss May, are you in possession of...Blaziken?"

"Umm...Y-yes. Why?"

Ashley turned her head back to the door. "Perhaps Miss May's Blaziken can ride down on Sir Brendan's Metagross. Blaziken could then catch us as we fall. It is simply a suggestion, Sir Kartock."

The four Trainers still weren't able to get over how Ashley talked. They kept their thoughts to themselves.

"Sounds like it's worth a shot. Brendan and May, was it? Are you willing to help?" Kartock asked, turning to them.

"Of course," May nodded.

"Good. Get to it. We'll keep these goons back until everybody's in position."

Brendan and May ran over to the window, with Dawn following them. She didn't want to get in the middle of a bar fight if she could avoid it.

"Kartock, can I talk to you for a second?" Dusk asked.

Kartock cracked his knuckles. "Well, even though I have my methods, I can't say that it's worth stopping you. What do you need?"

"It's funny...See, I kinda got this reputation to keep..."

Minutes passed. Brendan and May turned around to see Dusk and Ashley fighting off a couple henchmen rather well. Kartock, however, wasn't in sight.

"Where did Kartock go?" Brendan asked.

"Present!" The officer popped up from a corner of the room. He had been ducking down, though nobody cared enough to ask him why.

"Well, we're all set. Any time you guys are," Brendan stated.

"About time." Kartock walked over to the window. "You three, get down there."

Dawn, May, then Brendan all jumped out the window, kindly caught by the Blaziken below them.

"Ashley, let's go!"

Ashley gave a stylish, yet painful flip kick to a guard before jumping through the broken window herself.

"Don't let me down, kid." Kartock put his hand on Dusk's shoulder, then made a leap for the window himself.

Wizard, who had been forgotten in the mess, looked at his Trainer before hoisting himself over the glass as well.

"Moonite! C'mon!" Dusk jumped out of the way of a Galactic grunt that lunged for him.

"Quil!" Moonite Tackled a grunt that was also nearing him, then jumped into his Trainer's arms.

Dusk gripped him tightly, letting Moonite's back rest against his chest. It wasn't the wisest thing to hold a Quilava in that position, but he knew that he had no other choice. "You ready, Moonite?"

"Quil, Quilava, quil!"

Dusk leapt for the window, back-first. "Fire!"

Moonite, comfortably facing the direction of the building, shot a burning Ember past multiple guards. The attack continued straight into a portable mine that Kartock had set up. The mine, as it's known to do, exploded upon the intense heat reaching it. The explosion of that mine caused another mine to blow up, which in turn, set off yet another one. The entire first floor of the building blew out in every direction across Veilstone, which caused the top of the warehouse to fall down. Eventually, the fire which had spawned from the explosion devoured that floor as well, forcing it to crumble into dust.

Meanwhile, Dusk was free-falling, directly into Blaziken's arms. He crashed into her, but Blaziken managed to catch him, marking their entire team as safe.

After the adrenaline subsided in everybody, Kartock walked over to Dawn. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Dawn blinked. "Um...Not...that I know of."

"Did you have anything to do with the Roark incident back in Oreburgh City?" he continued.

"Er..."

Kartock kicked at the dirt, chuckling. "I don't think you realize that you made me miss the bounty that laid comfortably on Roark's over-inflated head..."

"_Well, go back to Celestic Town, you got another shot at it_..." Dawn sighed, wishing she couldn't say something like that. "I'm really sorry...I was kind of...unconscious for most of it anyway."

Kartock quickly perked up. "Unconscious? Wha...?"

Dawn quickly shook her arms in front of her. It was a little hard moving her right arm, given it was trapped in a cast, but she managed anyway. "No, it's okay! I don't need to bother you with my problems."

"The thing is, it might become all of our problems if it's what I think it is..."

"...Huh?"

"Answer the question. Why were you unconscious?"

Dawn's grew slightly frustrated. "What? I happen to have this thing against being surrounded by dirt. Is there a problem with that?"

"Fine. Be that way." Kartock turned around and walked past the entire team, leaving his back to all of them.

"What's wrong?" May asked, not having paid attention to his conversation with Dawn.

"I want you four to quit searching after Team Galactic. Ashley and I will take it from here."

"What?!" Dusk quickly exclaimed.

"Kartock, if it's because of the money from the bounty, you can have it! That's not what we want!" Dawn fired back.

"I know where Team Galactic's going next," Kartock said plainly.

"Wait, what?" Brendan asked. "You do?"

"Yeah. That's why I just said that I did."

Ashley walked next to her partner.

"It's dangerous. It'd be better if you left it to us."

"If it's so dangerous, where is it...?" After recovering from the confusion, Dusk remembered he was holding onto Moonite. He lifted up the creature's Pokéball and returned the Pokémon.

Kartock sighed. "I suppose you're not going to let this go?" He slowly turned around to face the team, though his sunglasses stopped them from seeing what his expression was. "Team Galactic's retreating to the only place in this entire country they ever wanted. Mount Coronet."

Three of the Trainers cringed. All because of Dawn.

"If Snippy-Blue over there was implying that she has Coronosis, I'm not quite sure how you expect to make it up Coronet itself. Especially if she got knocked out cold just because of Roark. Like I said, Ashley and I will handle it from here. May. Brendan. Thanks for the help. Ashley. Let's go." Kartock turned back around and walked the other way.

Ashley, however, looked the group up and down one last time. "You are...an interesting team. I do not know what drives your rage against Team Galactic. However, I understand that, despite what Sir Kartock or I say...we cannot force you to stay out of Mount Coronet. Should our paths not cross beforehand...I wish you luck."

Dusk, Brendan, and May watched the mysterious girl slowly walk away. Dawn, however, growled.

"What a jerk! Oh, gee, I'm sorry, I didn't feel like running down my medical history with a complete stranger. How dare I?"

The remaining members of the group stared awkwardly at Dawn. It caused her to sound out a nervous, "What?" while scanning all three curious faces.

May recalled her Pokémon. "Thank you so much, Blaziken. Please rest well." After Blaziken was secured in her home, May walked up to Dawn. She set a hand lightly on her shoulder. "I'm pretty sure that we're just...curious. We're just trying to figure out how we're going to get through Mount Coronet, that's all."

"Why? What'll be--" A thought suddenly occurred to Dawn. She took a step backward, far enough to get May's condescending arm off of her shoulder. "...Oh."

Brendan lifted his headband up with one hand and scratched his forehead with the other. "Uh, blonde moment?"

"She's had a few of those," Dusk replied, managing to get a snicker out of Brendan.

"Guys!" May hissed, jerking her head over her shoulder. After silencing the boys with her strong look alone, she turned back to Dawn. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Well..." Dawn rubbed one of her eyes. Successfully hiding the omnipresent tears, she walked forward and grabbed Wizard off of his perch on Dusk's shoulder. She continued so her back was to everybody before hugging the mouse tightly to her waist. "Yeah, fire me from Team Missile...I seem to haven't been much more than dead weight so far."

"Dawn...You know that isn't true!" May comforted. "There's no way we could have won that battle just back there if you didn't help..."

"Hey, guys? Could you, uhm...give me and Dawn a minute?"

May looked at Dusk quickly, finding it absurd that he wanted her to leave in a critical time like this. With a sigh, however, she reasoned with herself that maybe they just needed each other at the moment. "...Sure. C'mon, Wizard, let's go back to the Pokémon Center for now."

Cradled in her arms, Wizard looked at Dawn, then at May. "Chu," he shook his head.

"What?" May was a bit shocked; Wizard had never turned her down before. "I'll let Torchic back out of her Pokéball..." she bargained. To prove she was telling the truth, May released Torchic on the spot.

"Torchic, Tor Tor!"

"Pika, Pi Pikachu."

"Chic, Torchic, Tor!"

Wizard looked at Dawn again, then back at Torchic. He pointed at the broken girl. "Pika pika, pi Pikachu, Pika Pi! CHU! Ka, Chu, Pikachu, ka Pika...pi..." Tears were coming to his own eyes as he neared the end of the statement.

Dawn forced a smile. The shouting had hurt her ears, but she tried not to mind. "Um...Okay?" she said, crying much more audible in her voice than she thought it'd be.

"Tor...chic?"

Wizard shook his head.

Torchic looked back at May, then Wizard, then May again, and finally at the back of Dawn's head. "Torchic, Tor Chic!" Torchic dashed off and leapt through the air, landing on Dawn's right-hand shoulder. She rubbed her head against Dawn's cheek. "Torchic, Torchic..." she chanted softly.

"Pika..."

With the ticklish feathers rubbing against her cheek and warm fur wrapped in her arms, Dawn's head fell. The war against her tears was becoming harder to win.

"...I...I don't know what to say..." May was awe-struck. "Umbreon, I'm sorry...I guess Torchic..."

"Don't worry about it. We'll take care of Torchic," Dusk confirmed.

Brendan put his arm around May and began walking her away. "Where do you suppose they came up with 'Team Missile,' anyway?"

Dusk watched the Hoenn Trainers walk away. He didn't say a word until they were out of range. "Dawn...The other two are gone. You can cry now."

"I'm not going to cry, Umbreon..." she choked out, water flooding to her eyes at an alarming rate.

Dusk bit his lip. "...It'd actually make me feel better right now if I could get two arms around my back..."

Dawn turned around and slowly stepped forward. Without looking at anything but the road, she lifted Wizard up and rested him on Dusk's shoulder. She picked Torchic up and put her on the opposite shoulder. "There...Now...you can have four...if you want..." she muttered out. She then walked past him.

"Dawn...! Dawn!" Despite Dusk's cries, she wouldn't turn around, or even stop.

Both Pokémon were severely saddened. Wizard had seen some drama between the two before, but nothing like this. "Pikachu..." he cursed to himself.

Dusk chased after her. "Dawn!" He hugged her from the back.

She pounded at the arms that had been put around her stomach with her cast. "Get away from me!"

The arms were quickly retreated. "Dawn...Please don't--ow..." Dusk shook his hand in the air a few times, having had his finger nailed by Dawn's cast. "Please don't walk away from me..."

She finally stopped walking. "I don't care what we promised each other. I'm quitting. Maybe I'll see you around somewhere, Umbreon..."

Dusk put his hand on her shoulder. "No! You aren't quitting on me, Dawn!"

His hand was slapped off when Dawn spun around and smacked it with the cast. Her eyes were so blood-shot, it was impossible to believe she wasn't crying. "Umbreon, it's your dream to travel across Sinnoh, doing new things, and finally getting out of Twinleaf Town. I've heard you tell that to May and Brendan. And if I stay on your shoulders, guess what? You can't. You can't do that."

Dawn rubbed the bridge of her nose while a moment of silence passed by. "After fourteen years, it finally hit me today that I can't enter into the landmark that Sinnoh's known for. To become a successful Pokémon Trainer, you need to be able to enter into places like that. You need to have friends that can enter into places like that. Umbreon...You're expecting too much of me. Go. Fulfill your dream. I'll be praying for you." Having fought back the tears until now, Dawn managed to turn around before Dusk saw any of them. "Just...Go," she finished, wiping away the water lines that ran down her face. She started walking forward, away from her closest friend.

Wizard finally broke down crying, his tears staining Dusk's vest. Torchic also looked disappointed, but she didn't know Dawn well enough to actually bring herself to cry.

"Dawn...listen to yourself."

The girl froze in place.

His caring attitude turned to anger. "Listen to yourself. You want me to fulfill my dream? Is my dream to stand at the window and watch my best friend walk down the road? My best friend, walk down the road, never to return to me again? Do you think that's what's going to make me happy? Honestly? Do you think I laugh when I think about never seeing my best friend again?" Tears were coming to Umbreon's own eyes.

"Quit calling me that!" Two tears streamed down each of her eyes. This time, however, she spun around to look directly at him. "Quit calling me your best friend! How do you expect me to feel like your best friend when I'm the only thing in the world that's stopping you from charging up into Galactic's face and getting your Chimchar back?"

There was nothing but silence. Dawn instantly gasped, however, when two tears fell down Dusk's eyes.

She shook her head. "No...Don't cry! You're stronger than that!"

He walked forward, also shaking his head. "No, I'm really not. Maybe in your perfect little world I am, but right here...No, not really. So, you're leaving?" he asked, changing subjects.

Dawn turned her head to the side. "...I have to. I'm just holding you back--"

"Then here. Give these to Rowan." Almost without warning, Dusk handed Dawn Moonite's Pokéball and his Pokédex. "Go on, Wizard. I'm not your Trainer anymore. You can either go with Dawn, or run off yourself. Have a good life, buddy. I'll miss you."

"...Pika...?" Wizard was so confused, tears only fell down his tired face even faster.

"Umbreon, what are you doing?" Dawn was just as flustered as Wizard.

Dusk put his hands on the side of Dawn's shoulders, though he made sure to keep his distance from her in all other ways. "I thought the note that I gave you made it clear that you became the center of this 'goal' that you keep talking about. Apparently, not. Ever since that night in Eterna Forest, I decided that if I couldn't be with you, I didn't ever want to finish this 'goal.' And if you're bailing out on me now, then I guess I can't. Wizard and Moonite have become good friends of mine, but there's not really any point in me keeping them anymore. I'm sure Rowan'll love studying the data from Moonite. And it'd probably be great for Wizard to do whatever he wants to anyway. Maybe I've been holding him back."

Wizard quickly shook his head, causing tears to fly around the place. "Pikachu! Pikachu!"

"It's okay, buddy," Dusk stroked behind his ears, hoping to comfort the Pikachu. "Look, Dawn, I know it's none of my business anymore, but...Take care of Quilava, all right?"

Dawn didn't react. She didn't move. She didn't breath. "_Q-Quilava...? Dusk has never called his Pokémon by its species_..."

"Actually, this works out great." Dusk rubbed his eyes on his shirt sleeve. "See? Now that Pikachu there can travel with May so he can be with Torchic."

"_'That Pikachu'?!_"Dawn's mind was about to flip. "Umbreon, if you give me all of your Pokémon, you can't travel across Sinnoh! You can't complete your dream! You can't--"

Once again, Dusk moved his hands to the sides of Dawn's shoulders. "I'll reiterate. If I can't have you, I don't want any of it."

Dawn's mind absolutely froze. She felt as if her heart just stopped beating.

Dusk picked the Pikachu off of his shoulder and set it on the ground gently. He did the same for Torchic. "You two take care of each other now, all right?"

"Pika, chu?" Wizard sniffled.

Dusk stood up. "...Goodbye, Dawn."

Something about those words incinerated Dawn's heart. After everything they've been through, those words were far more painful than that knife would have been. She still failed to react. Her confused and soaked eyes were the only active parts on her body.

Dusk stepped to her side and started down the road.

"...PIKACHU!!" Wizard chased after Dusk, drenched in his own tears.

He turned around. "No, Pikachu. Until she decides what to do with you, you're Dawn's Pokémon now. Understand?"

"Pika! Pika!" He shook his head violently.

Two tears flooded out of both of Dusk's eyes. "...I'll miss you, Wizard." Dusk turned around again, this time, much more reluctantly. He continued walking until he eventually disappeared from sight.

"PIKA! PIKACHU!!" Despite his constant cries, Wizard couldn't get Dusk to turn back around.

Dawn fell to her knees, absolutely stunned. She wasn't able to move at all for minutes.

Torchic hopped onto her lap. "Tor, chic?" she asked worriedly.

---------------------------

At the PokéCenter, May turned around in her chair when the doors opened. Dawn walked through, her head as low as it could sink without breaking off of her neck. Behind her trailed two Pokémon.

The first thing the older woman did was look at the clock. She'd been waiting for Dawn for a little over twenty minutes. "Dawn...Are you feeling any better?"

She didn't respond. Only turned direction and started walking for her reserved room.

"Where's Umbreon?"

Yet again, no words left Dawn's mouth. She reached the side door, opened it, and disappeared inside. She slammed it from the other side before either Wizard or Torchic could continue following her.

Wizard fell to the floor and started crying again. Torchic skipped over to him and started stroking his back with her soft wing.

May walked over to the two and bent down to the floor. "Torchic, Wizard...What happened?"

"PIKACHU!!" The Pikachu jumped up and ran into May's lap, almost knocking her over. He began to cry uncontrollably into her shirt, changing it from ruby-colored to maroon.

"Wizard...It's all right...Everything will be just fine..." She hugged him tightly. "...Whatever exactly is wrong..."

She took them both over to the chair she had been resting in and sat down. She put Torchic on one knee, and Wizard on the other, then began bouncing her legs up and down.

"Torchic, Torchic!" the Fire-type Pokémon chirped, enjoying the ride.

"Pika, pika..." Wizard was hardly audible. He reached his tiny paw up to an eye and wiped away its tear.

"_I've never seen Wizard cry before...I've never seen a Pokémon cry before...What could have possibly happened? Oh, of all the days Brendan wants to go shopping...But when I want to go shopping in Lilycove, NOO!!_"

An entire three hours passed. May still waited in the same chair, not having moved an inch. She was even beginning to doze off. The two Pokémon had snuggled themselves into her lap and fallen asleep, Wizard much less peacefully than Torchic. He was breathing heavily, and constantly rolled over from side to side. That was the only thing to keep May up.

Finally, the automatic doors opened, and Brendan walked through, carrying a small bag. He spotted May and walked over to her. "Hey May, what's--"

She shushed him, then pointed at the Pokémon in her lap.

He sat down in a chair next to her. "Sorry," he whispered softly. "What are you still doing here? Haven't the other two come back yet?"

May looked down at Wizard. "I don't have any idea what's going on, Brendan...Dawn came storming in here awhile ago, but she didn't say anything to me...I don't know what's wrong, but Wizard was even crying..."

"Pika...pika..." the Pokémon gasped in his restless sleep.

"Brendan, could I ask you to take care of the Pokémon for a minute? I want to go make sure Dawn's okay..."

"Oh, sure." He grabbed Torchic, carefully making sure he didn't accidentally wake her, and set her on his own lap. He accepted Wizard from May after he'd gotten comfortable.

"Thank you," May stepped away quietly, tip-toeing to the other room.

Brendan carefully set his hand on Wizard's forehead. "_Whatever went down, Wizard sure got worked up about it_..."

---------------------------

"...Go away!"

May reached the door Dawn was in, but she had locked it from the inside. May knocked a few more times. "Dawn, it's just me. I want to talk to you."

"Well, I don't, so just go away!" Dawn repeated.

May tapped her foot on the ground, hoping to come up with a solution. "..._I know! Maybe some dinner will cheer her up!_" She temporarily gave up knocking on the door and continued down the hall, finding her way to the Center's cafeteria.

She walked to the buffet table and grabbed a plate, fork, and napkin. The smiling Trainer then walked up and down both sides of the food-covered table, selecting only the most delicious-looking foods she could find. "_I can't believe all of this is free_..." she thought along the way.

Finally, she finished gathering the dinner and walked back down the hall to where Dawn's room was. A deep breath entered into and out of her lungs before she knocked again. "Dawn! I brought you some dinner!"

There was no response.

"Dawn?" May placed her hand on the doorknob, and was surprised to find it unlocked. She turned it slowly, not knowing what to expect. "Dawn? Did you unlock the door?" The door creaked open. May gasped upon seeing what was inside.

Half of Dawn's notepad papers, all of which had her emotions for Dusk written on them, were torn off and thrown across the room randomly. Moonite's Pokéball was heaved into the corner of the room. Besides a small paint scratch, nothing serious seemed to happen to the ball. The one sight that tore into May, however, was Dawn. She was draped on the bottom bunkbed, laying on her stomach, sobbing without control. Her hair was soaked, all because of her tears. She had taken her bandana off to prevent it from also getting wet. "Dawn...Please tell me what's wrong...I brought you dinner..."

Dawn choked.

"It smells really good! I tried to remember your favorites from what you usually eat, but I'm not sure if I got them all right. Try it anyway!"

"...I don't want food..."

"Please tell me what's wrong, Dawn...It hurts me so much to see you like this..."

She swerved her head to the side. The unhealthy red color on her face intimidated May more than her glare did. "I don't want to talk about it!"

"Is it something with Umbreon?"

Dawn got off of the bed and grabbed her handbag, which was just laying on the floor on her side.

"Did something happen between you and Umbreon?"

"You want to know what's wrong with me?" Dawn shot a freezing-cold leer at May. "There's another person in this room that won't leave me alone!" Dawn took her handbag by the side of its main body and smashed the remaining side into May's arm. It knowingly landed directly into her injury.

May dropped the plate of food, causing everything on top of it to splatter across the ground. The sound of the plastic silverware clanging against the floor filled the room. After giving her brain time to process the mind-shattering pain that surged through her arm, she let out a loud howl of agony that echoed through the entire Pokémon Center.

Brendan's eyes quickly turned to the door that the sound had come from. He abruptly picked the two sleeping Pokémon up and set them in the chair that May had been sitting in. Since it was so sudden, they both woke up, dazed by the sudden movement.

"Sorry, guys, get back to sleep! I have to go check something out real quick!" Brendan dashed for the door.

Wizard tiredly looked at Torchic, who was yawning. "...Pika Pi?"

The door to Dawn's room got kicked in. "All right, what's going on in here?!" Brendan observed the room's details that May had, except he had a bit more to look at. Namely, the food that was thrown on the ground. Also on the ground was May, writhing, gripping her damaged arm tightly. Given the direction of her head, the tears she shed flew off to the side, rather than fall down her face. Brendan looked up at the bottom bunkbed to see Dawn facing the opposite wall, her arm over her face. Besides breathing, she wasn't moving at all. "Dawn...I swear to whatever you Sinnoh people pray to that this better not be your fault! I'll skin you with my bare hands, do you hear me?"

"Brendan, no, don't--" May tried to stand up, but even more agony surged through her arm. She was stuck in place, which caused her to cry even harder. Yet, she still continued her sentence. "Brendan, don't hurt Dawn..."

"So this is her fault?"

"Not at all, Brendan! She's just confused right now, and..." Despite her willingness to continue, May's arm received another bolt of pain through it, causing her to stop mid-sentence.

"I don't care what she is! Did Dawn happen to know that the doctor said you could permanently lose feeling in that arm if it was damaged before it had a chance to heal?!"

The air grew thin to Dawn. "_...Permanently?_"

"It's not her fault, Brendan..." May broke down even further. Whether it was because of the pain, or just the situation, even she wasn't sure. "Don't hold a grudge against Dawn...She's our friend, and being mad at our friends isn't good for anybody..."

Brendan was about to curse, but stopped. "May...I want you to go down the hallway and wait for me. If you can't make it, just sit in a chair in the lobby and I'll be out in a minute. The nurse isn't in the building for whatever freakin' reason that is, so we're going to have to do something ourselves. I want to have a little chat with Dawn." He bent down and threw his arms around May's waist. With a single motion, he hoisted her up to her feet.

"No, Brendan, don't! Don't hurt her!" May ignored the pain, even though standing up only made it throb even more.

Brendan sighed, hoping to sound as calm as possible. "I won't hurt her. I just need some answers."

May nodded. She knew that could have meant brutal interrogation when it came from Brendan, but she couldn't fight any longer. She limped out of the room, silently leaving the other two behind.

Brendan stormed over to Dawn and physically forced her to roll over. He grabbed her by the collar and drew her close until their faces were mere inches apart. "The words 'I've gone mentally insane' better be the next ones to come out of that mouth, woman!"

She didn't reply. Only looked at Brendan with her blood shot eyes that had run out of tears atleast an hour back.

Finally, Brendan shot her back into the bed, causing her to bounce a few times. He turned around and walked towards the wall. "I'll never know how May does it. I hope you're happy. I have no idea what the devil you're blubbering about, but who I used to say was one of your best friends is outside that door, wondering to herself if she'll ever be able to use her left arm again. How dare you betray May's trust like that?"

Dawn sniffled.

"Oh, here we go! Now you're going to start crying, and I'll never get to the bottom of this! I swear, you teenage girls are just walking time bombs! One minute we're blowing up buildings together, and the next, you turn around and slug your ally!"

"...Umbreon left..." Dawn inaudibly muttered out.

"...What?"

"Umbreon left! Forever! And it's my fault!" The more Dawn wanted to cry, the more her eyes hurt her. They'd been spouting so many tears today, they needed a break.

Brendan's face fell into his hand. "Ugh...I don't have the time for this right now. I'm going to rush May down that hall and use all the doctoring skills that I've magically learned to see if I can't help her feel better. After that, you and I are going to start this conversation again right where it left off, do you understand me?" Brendan warned.

"Brendan...if you have the least bit of faith in me left...I want to ask a favor of you..."

Before he could leave the room, Brendan stopped and sighed. "You're skating on thin ice, I can tell you that. What is it?"

"Tonight, sometime...I want you to take me to Mount Coronet."

"Without Dusk?! That'll kinda defeat the purpose of chasing after Team Galactic!"

Dawn shook her head. "I don't want to chase after Team Galactic..."

"Then please remind me what the point of going to Coronet is," he requested, folding his arms.

"I want you to take me up...As high as I can go..."

"As high as you _can_ go? What's that supposed to mean?" Brendan actually forgot about May in favor of the current conversation.

"When Coronosis takes over me...I want you to turn back and leave, then get back here before May knows you left."

"But then you couldn't get out..." Upon stating the obvious, Brendan realized what Dawn was plotting. "Oh, no. No, no, no. All right, Team Missile don't even joke about anything like that, got it?"

Dawn jumped up to her feet and stared at Brendan. "I'm not joking. Clearly...I've overstayed my welcome. Every single person I've ever loved, as a family member or friend, has ended up getting hurt. I don't care what May told me the other morning, I'm the cause of every problem this team has, and there's a single way to stop that problem from existing. Maybe it's time...to see my family again...I wasn't even going to ask you, but since you're so mad at me, I thought that you'd enjoy watching me slowly die..."

Brendan couldn't believe he was in the middle of this. Her last sentence, in particular, off-put him. "Dawn, are you insane? What's killing yourself going to fix?!"

"...Everything. For once in the past fourteen years, Brendan, I can finally never hurt anybody again."

"Do you honestly think May would like this? Or Dusk?"

Three knocks echoed through the door before Dawn could answer.

Brendan gulped, remembering the injured girl that was waiting for him. "May, I'm really sorry, I'll be out in a second."

Again, three consecutive knocks banged on the wooden door.

"May? Does it hurt that--" Brendan opened the door, revealing the battered person on the other side.

The girl in the room gasped as her heart rate increased.

"Dang, Dawn, you really messed the script up. You were supposed to chase after me."


	15. Whatta night

"Good! You fix this! I got to help May!" Brendan, relieved that he could finally do so, quickly left.

"...U-U-Umbreon..."

Dusk walked through the door, shut it, and leaned on it. His face had dirt marks on it, and his right knee looked like it got sand shot at it. "I was going to just listen for awhile longer, but I thought I'd come in here and tell you that I might know what Dusk thinks about the situation."

Dawn turned around and folded her arms. "I don't want to talk about it..."

"Good, because I don't either."

Dawn's head jerked back, but the rest of her body was turned away from Dusk. "I'm sorry?"

"Dawn, today's been the longest day I've had since that time that my house caught on fire. If I can't get, as Brendan would so elegantly put it, my girl's arms around my back, I'm going to go insane."

She turned her head back to the opposite direction to avoid blushing. "...Y-you had to find someone pretty quickly, then." Dawn cringed upon saying that.

"Dawn, you know who I mean."

"Umbreon, I've...screwed up, so many times. I'm not going to insult you by being called your friend, letalone girlfriend..." This time, she was glad that her tears had run out. The two could hold a conversation without Dawn bawling for once.

"I'm just going to run down the list of things in order, okay?" Dusk hid his hands inside of his pockets. "One, quit calling me Umbreon. 'Dusk' was working just fine before."

"You should only get called your nickname by your friends..."

"And two, quit thinking you're not my friend!" Dusk quickly countered.

"Don't you think a friend would have chased after you?!" Dawn sighed as her vision began getting blurry behind more tears.

Dusk quit leaning on the door, but otherwise stayed in much the same position. "Dawn, nobody can deny it. You've made some mistakes today. Now that you've made them, learn from them, and don't do them again!"

"Umbreon, I might have paralyzed May's arm..."

"How's that make a difference? Dawn, you could stab May in the leg and she'd smile back at you."

Dawn grew a small grin. "_Also true..._"

"...Can I get those arms around me yet?"

Hesitantly, Dawn turned around and hugged Dusk. She was reluctant at first, but after getting just a taste of the warmth and protection Dusk gave her, she fell at ease. "Dusk...Do you really forgive me? I mean...For everything that I've done?"

"On three terms..." Dusk began twisting his mid-section lightly from side to side, causing the two to rock back and forth a bit. "One, I want to join Team Missile again..."

Dawn giggled. "You were never taken off the list..."

"...I wake up in the morning and see you on the bottom bunk, alive..."

"Oh...You heard that?"

"I sorta wish I didn't...It's a terrifying thought."

"I'm sorry, Dusk...I didn't mean to upset you..."

"If you aren't going to do it, don't apologize..."

"I won't..." Dawn was quickly finding it hard to continue paying attention to him. She was too wrapped up in his body to notice his words.

"And third, I'd like my Pokémon back, if you wouldn't mind..."

Dawn somehow pulled herself away from Dusk. "Dusk...? You mean Monkey, right?"

"No...Well, er, yeah! But I also meant the two that I gave you earlier."

She stepped further away from him. "You...actually gave me your Pokémon?" Dawn was stunned. "I thought...that was just..."

Dusk knew where that sentence was leading, but figured that Dawn couldn't find the words to express it. "Do you think I'd actually force Wizard to cry just for a few laughs? Of course I gave you them."

"Umbreon!" Dawn yelled in a way that made Dusk cringe again, just like old times. Her voice quickly calmed back down to near a whisper. "You...gave me your Pokémon?" she repeated in disbelief.

"I was forced to accept the fact that I couldn't be a Trainer anymore, and didn't really have any other choice."

"Then why did you come back?"

"Actually, I just wanted to give you these back..." Dusk clenched his fist, showing Dawn that he was implying the gloves. "Didn't really think I could make it back to Twinleaf while wearing something of yours."

"Dusk...I-I'm confused...W-what did you mean earlier? That I was...the center of your goal?"

"Self-explanatory, isn't it?" Dusk joked. "Apparently, I haven't said it before, so I'll just say it now. If I can't travel with you, I don't want to travel at all."

"Dusk, that's kind of insane...! You shouldn't put your lifelong dream on hold just for me..."

Dusk walked a little closer to Dawn. "Leaving Twinleaf Town was a dream that I had when I was young...Leaving Twinleaf Town with you by my side is the dream that I have now."

Dawn blushed and shyly looked away from her partner. "...You know how to make a girl feel better, don't you..."

The boy put his hand on Dawn's shoulder and flicked some hair from one side of it to the other. "I changed my mind. We won't go to dinner tonight. We can do that anywhere. How about a little shopping?"

"...D-Dusk, I'd love to, but I'm kinda soaked here..." Dawn looked down at her outfit to see most of it wet due to all the crying she had done that day. "I can't go out right now..."

"Well, you go back there and take as long as you need," Dusk pointed to the restroom. "I want to go do a few things first anyway."

Dawn thought for a moment. "...Okay! I'll be out in a bit." She turned around and started walking for the other door, but stopped when her eyes caught something. "Oh, Dusk, I'm...I'm sorry. I was mad earlier, and I threw Moonite's Pokéball into the wall...I guess I ruined the ball a little bit..." She bent down and picked the object up.

"Is Moonite all right?" he responded.

"He should be." Dawn handed the sphere back to its rightful owner.

"Then I don't care."

Dawn smiled at her friend's forgiveness and proceeded through the door. Dusk looked down at the floor, spotting one of the notes. He bent down and picked it up to get a closer look at it. "_'D' and 'U' with a heart around it_..." He laughed, somewhat embarrassed by the message. "_Do I have a girlfriend or a fangirl?_"

After picking the room up of all its trash, Dusk sighed contently and left for the lobby for his next mission.

---------------------

"Umbry! What happened in there?"

Brendan and May had been sitting down in two of the chairs. When they saw Dusk enter the room, they tried to stand up, but May's arm still bothered her too much. Only the male could manage to stand. Wizard and Torchic were sleeping on another chair.

"She's fine and not what I'm worried about right now. How are you doing, May?"

"...G-Great." She forced a smile. "Or something resembling it."

"What did the nurse say it was?" Dusk wondered, walking a little closer to the Hoenn Trainers.

"I prefer 'doctor,' thank you," Brendan mentioned.

"You helped May's arm?" the boy blinked. "Brendan, you don't even know what the 'white part' on the bottom of a band-aid is for..."

May giggled, causing Brendan's face to turn pink.

"...It's soft, all right? What else is there? Anyway, the nurse isn't here right now, so we had to take matters into our own hands. We actually got--"

"Whoa, wait," Dusk interrupted. "What do you mean? The nurse isn't here?"

"No...Brendan had to use those spray things on me himself..." May added, her voice sounding tired.

"Yeah, I picked the one with 'oxy' on it. I like the word 'oxymoron,' so I figured, 'what the hey?'"

"...Don't you find it a little strange that the owner of the building would leave without locking the doors? Especially in a place like a Pokémon Center?" Dusk asked.

"Well, now that you mention it..." Brendan sat back down and rubbed his hand through his hair. "Slightly, I guess."

"What do you think it is, Umbreon?" May asked, still not fully getting what he was poking at.

Dusk folded his arms. "Well, I can think of one answer..."

"Oh, for Kanto's sake..." Brendan cursed under his breath. "What's our plan, Captain?"

"_I guess I'm a bit more shook up then I thought...Because I'm clearly not getting something_," May thought to herself.

Dusk sighed as a means to stall an answer. Finally, his mouth opened, but the words were delayed a second from it. "I told Dawn that we could hit the Department Store tonight, hoping it'd draw the line in the sand from...everything that's happened today. Brendan, if you don't mind, maybe you should take a look around the city for anything suspicious. May...I want to tell you to stay here and rest your arm, but we couldn't risk something like that. You're going to have to go with Brendan. If you came with us, Dawn might get more suspicious then I really want her to. She's been through too much today to deal with even more...especially...after that last thing she said." Dusk's eyes turned to the side.

Brendan knew exactly what he was talking about. "I won't let it get to that, Dusk."

"_Will somebody just tell me what's going on?!_"May really wanted to say that out loud, but for some reason, didn't.

"May? Is that all right with you?" Dusk asked, noticing she was having a hard time paying attention.

May's head fell. "...I-I have no idea what's going on."

Brendan giggled, which created a disturbing sound. "Blonde moment!"

"Hey!" May shouted, wishing she could lift her arm up to smack him in the back of the head.

"Think about it for a minute, May," Dusk mediated. "There's one reason why a person would leave their entire building defenseless..."

May blinked at Dusk. "_Maybe it's time I went to bed_..."

Seeing she still didn't get it, Dusk continued. "Against her will."

After having it spelled out for her, May gasped. "Umbreon...Do you really think...? I mean, we're probably just overthinking this..."

"You've been in that exact chair for the past three and a half hours, May, and you haven't seen another soul besides us three once. Don't you find that just a little bit odd?" Brendan inquired.

"I..." May frowned. She had no idea how to continue that sentence.

"...The shower just turned off," Dusk's ears alerted him. "Dawn's coming out here soon."

Brendan couldn't believe their luck. He already wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, and having an extra time limit didn't help. "So what do you want me and May to do? Just hop, skip, and jump around town until we see a tall guy in a black overcoat, then point at him and scream, 'Objection'?"

"I'm sorry, Umbreon, but I have to interrupt...Dawn's gotten mad at you before in Eterna City when you didn't tell her about what you thought the Galactic building was...Won't she just get mad at you again?"

Dusk sighed. "...You got a point, don't you? If...you two aren't back here by the time we get done shopping, I'm just going to have to come clean with her. Until then, try to--"

The door opened, sending a sudden chill in both the boys' veins. May didn't really seem to mind, however.

"Thanks for cleaning the room, Dusk! I guess I did kinda--Oh...May..." Dawn, though rejuvenated by the bath, quickly fell back to depression upon seeing the Hoenn Trainer. "I actually kinda thought that you'd be...gone by now."

"Gone? Where would we go? Back to Hoenn?" May joked.

"Er...Yeah, actually..."

"Dawn..." May stood up, putting on a more serious expression then she had before. Her arm still throbbed, but since Brendan had sprayed something on it, it was starting to feel better. She walked over to Dawn. "I already told you, I'm not leaving until the time is right...And we're so close to beating Team Galactic once and for all, there's no way that I'm leaving now!"

Dusk and Brendan sighed. This wasn't a conversation they wanted their partners to be having right now.

"I know we are, but after what I did to you...I mean, admit it May, paralyzing your arm is sorta unforgivable..." Dawn's head fell.

May looked back at the boys, wondering how she was possibly supposed to cheer Dawn up after she said something like that. She turned her head back around and decided to let the words come out themselves. "Dawn, you apologized, and you didn't even have to do that! You've been through alot today, and I only aggravated you more...It's my fault, not yours. Don't feel bad, Dawn."

Brendan felt his own _anime_ sweatdrop while smiling wryly. "_Yep, that's May for you_."

"You...aren't mad at me?" Dawn shyly lifted her head up.

"Of course I'm not! I never was. I just want to be friends again, that's all!"

Dawn hugged May. "Thank you, May..." She left the hug and turned to Brendan, her head falling as low as it did a moment ago. "You're...still pretty pissed at me though, right?"

"...If May's fine with you, I can't be mad at you either." With Dawn's now-apparent boyfriend standing next to him, Brendan really couldn't say anything else.

May walked over and slapped him on the elbow with her right hand. "You could atleast try to make it sound convincing!"

"I mean it! And I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier, Dawn. It was a bit out of line--Way! Way out of line. It was way out of line," Brendan corrected, fearful of another smack by his own partner.

"And I'm sorry...for ever asking a favor like that..." Dawn raised her head up. A weak smile was on her face. "But if all you forgive me, I guess there's no point in beating myself up over it, huh?"

"Besides, my arm isn't even paralyzed!" May exclaimed happily. "Brendan helped me get the--"

Dusk slammed his hand on May's mouth. Brendan then put his own hand on top of Dusk's. "...M-May means Brendan and the nurse! Both, Brendan and the nurse helped May feel better..." Dusk covered convincingly.

"Right! Ever since Oreburgh, you know how me and my Joys cooperate with each other. Like Mario and Luigi! Uhm...Bob and Steve? Uh..."

Dawn blinked. "Uhm...okay. Well, that's good...Pretty random, but good. Dusk, are you ready?"

"Sure." Dusk turned to the Hoenn Trainers. "So what are you two going to do?"

"We're...uhm..." Though Dusk had, Brendan didn't take his hand off of May's mouth yet. He didn't know if she was aware of how important it was that Dawn didn't find anything out yet.

"No, let me!" Dawn reached inside her handbag. She pulled out a coin purse and walked over to the other Trainers. She dug through it and pulled her hand back out. Held inside of its grasp was a wad of bills. "There's a really nice restaurant I saw when we walked into the town. Please take this and enjoy yourselves! There should be enough for four here, so you can take Wizard and Torchic along too."

Brendan had to stop himself from laughing. "_Won't that be romantic?_"

"Dawn, please, no! We couldn't accept your money!" May begged.

"No, May, please! After all the trouble I've caused everybody today, I really need to make it up to you somehow. Especially you, May..."

If it wouldn't bring attention to himself, Dusk would have snapped his fingers. He hit a few buttons on his Pokétch, then took a pen out and started writing on it. Luckily, the other three were lost in the confusion of Dawn's gift, so he continued undisturbed.

"D-Dawn...There's three hundred dollars here! We can't accept all of this!" May offered the money back to its owner.

"What?!" Brendan shouted, eyes set on Dawn only after confirming that May wasn't joking.

"Then maybe you could just take some of it? I'm sorry, I just feel really bad for what I've done today..." Dawn sighed.

Dusk cleared his throat. "Hey, Brendan, come here for a second. I want to show you something on my Pokétch..."

"Kinduva bad time, isn't it?" Brendan wondered, turning his head back to Dusk.

"...No. Trust me. It's not."

Brendan reluctantly turned around and walked over to Dusk. "I got three hundred bucks dangling in front of me. Make this good."

Dusk held out his arm and activated the Pokétch's backlight, making it easier to see.

Brendan squinted. Umbreon had written something on one of the machine's applications, but he had a hard time seeing what it was. "Take it...?" he read, accidentally out loud.

May turned around. "Take what?"

Brendan shot a quick glance at Dusk, who was glaring back at him angrily. "...OH! Oh! Take it! Yeah, just take it, Umbry! Take...uhm...A-anyway, I got an idea!" He walked back to the other two Trainers.

Dusk sighed. "_I don't believe that idiot_..."

"Dawn, how about this. We'll take--er, use fifty bucks. That'll be plenty for all four of us. _Right_, May?" he asked, putting a very strong emphasis on the word.

"...Oh. S-sure." May felt disheartened. "If we have to..." she mumbled to herself.

"I don't know...I doubt that'll buy much..." Dawn looked at the money she had given May.

"Don't worry about it! May here needs to watch her weight anyway."

"**Brendan**!" His comment soon got him an elbow into his gut. "I am not gaining weight!"

Dawn couldn't help but chuckle, even if she did feel bad for it. "All right, fine...Just take fifty...But nothing less!"

May shuffled through the bills and took out just enough for the agreed total. She handed the rest back to Dawn with a smile.

She accepted it and put it back into her coin purse, then put that inside her bag. She finally returned to her cheery self. "I think I'm finally ready, Dusk," she laughed.

Dusk and Brendan let the girls take a large lead in front of them.

"What was that about?!" Brendan snapped in a hoarse whisper.

"What are you talking about? Brendan, this is perfect! Even if you're not back here by the time we are, Dawn will just assume you're still eating!"

"...You know? I'm starting to see May's point of view on this one."

Dusk sighed. "I know, I know...I'll have to tell her, but I have to wait for an opportunity. Right now, just follow the script and we'll go from there."

Suddenly, May stopped walking and blushed. "Um...Guys...I think we forgot something."

"What is it, May?" Dawn asked, being the closest to her.

May looked back to where they were just having their last conversation. Wizard and Torchic were still sleeping on the chair, more peaceful than ever. All of the arguing did nothing to upset their rest.

Dusk also looked back at them and laughed. "Hold on, I'll get 'em." He walked back to the chair while the other three waited. "Wizard! Torchic! C'mon, let's go!"

Wizard lifted his paw into the air without opening his eyes. "Pika, pika...chu..."

"No, not five more minutes! Now! C'mon!"

Wizard's eyes suddenly shot open. After recognizing the voice, the mouse jumped to his feet and looked at the human smiling before him. "PIKA!" he exclaimed loudly. The eccentric Pokémon leaped for Dusk's shoulder and started snuggling up on it.

Wizard's sudden scream also awoke Torchic. She looked around, confused for a second, but soon noticed the Trainer standing before her. "Torchic! Torchic!" She began jumping up and down in the chair. She was thrilled to see Wizard happy more than anything else.

"All right, all right, that's enough!" Dusk picked Wizard up by the body and held him in front of his face. Wizard was beaming back excitedly. "I know, you and I got a lot of catching up to do. I'll explain everything later tonight. You still want me to be your Trainer, don't you?"

"Pika, chu!" he happily roared as if he was asked the dumbest question in the world.

"Tor!" Torchic hopped on Dusk's shoulder and waited for her ride to start moving.

---------------

By the time they got outside the building, it was already nighttime. After Dusk, Dawn, and May all had to explain to Wizard that he was going with the Hoenn Trainers for the night, rather than his returned friend, they split up into their assigned groups and headed off for the separate destinations.

"Wizard's so excited to see you back, isn't he?"

"Yeah..."

"Is something on your mind, Dusk?"

"Well, it's just...It'll probably seem rude of me to draw attention to this myself, but nobody's remarked on my second explosion yet..."

Dawn had to think for a minute before understanding what he meant. She began laughing. "It was a worthy predecessor, Dusk."

"I'm a bit worried, though. If it wasn't for Kartock, I couldn't have done it, and my reputation would have been smeared. I mean, what if he's not there next time?"

"Maybe you'll have caught a Pokémon that knows Self-Destruct by then," Dawn continued laughing. "Speaking of Kartock, where do you think he went off to?"

"If I could guess, Mount Coronet..." Dusk replied bluntly.

"Oh...Yeah, probably..."

"But Dawn, I don't want to think about things like that tonight," he stated as they walked up the stairs to the shopping mall. "Let's just relax and have a good time, all right?"

Dawn was caught off-guard. Dusk never seemed to be the one to say something like that. "Y-yeah, okay!"

"Hi! Welcome to the Veilstone shopping mall, where money really does buy everything!" the friendly greeter welcomed the two once they had reached the place.

------------------------------

The remaining team had found the restaurant Dawn was talking about, and took their seat at a table with a booth on each side. May and Wizard were on one side, with Brendan and Torchic on the other. It was a fancy building, though it looked much more appealing on the outside than it did inside. Quaint music playing in the background set the mood at ease in the humble, somewhat busy restaurant.

May set her menu back down on the table and sighed. "I'm worried, Brendan...Do you actually think somebody kidnapped the nurse? Shouldn't we call the authorities on something like this?"

Brendan also set his own menu on the table. "We don't have enough proof, May. Common sense indicates that foul play is involved here, somewhere. Unfortunately for us, cops don't usually use common sense. We have to find solid proof of this before we start accusing anybody...or thing."

Wizard hopped up on the table, with Torchic doing the same. They each took a menu and began scanning down the items, even though they couldn't read them. Wizard pointed at one of the items. "Pi ka, pi chu?"

"Torchic!" She nodded her head in agreement.

May hoped watching the Pokémon interact could bring a smile to her face. It didn't. "I know, it's just...We don't even know where to start looking. Veilstone's a really big place. If there actually is somebody dangerous here, he could be anywhere. We can't find him in a single night."

"Well, you know how much Dusk is counting on us. The very least I want to have to tell him is that we tried our best. Maybe we could--"

An appropriately groomed, middle-aged man walked over to the table holding a notepad and pen. "Pardon me, are you ready to order?"

"No, we need a few more minutes, thanks," Brendan answered.

"Pika!" Wizard drew attention to himself, then pointed at a listing on the menu.

May reached over and looked at what he wanted. "...Cloyster shells?"

Wizard grimaced. He began shaking his head. "Chu, chu, Pika pi!"

"Torchic. Torchic?" The Pokémon started pecking at her own menu.

Brendan noticed what she was talking about. "Sure, we'll have this!" He lifted up the menu to the waiter and pointed at the item.

"Very well. I'll return in a few minutes to take the rest of your orders." The man jotted something down on the notepad and left.

"What did you order, Torchic?" May wondered.

Torchic cocked her head to the side, slightly curious herself.

"...Cloyster shells," Brendan answered for her.

--------------------------

"Which one do you think, Dusk?"

"Er...I-I'm really sorry, Dawn. For one reason or another, I'm just not that good at things like this..."

The Sinnoh Trainers had found their way to the floor which contained perfume, or, as Dusk knew it, "the pink aisle with all the frilly things." Dusk was out of his element, but he swallowed what remained of his dignity as he knew that Dawn would want to freshen up with new things. That, however, didn't stop his eyes from watering due to the massive amount of colliding fragrances.

"Well, my last bottle's empty, and I like wearing perfume!"

"_I like you wearing perfu--Gah, what am I saying?!_"

After what seemed like hours, Dawn finally set one bottle down, and kept the other in her remaining hand. "Oh, I'll just take this one..."

Dusk felt like falling to his knees and singing praises. However, being in a public mall was enough to dissuade the decision.

As per the store's rules, Dawn was forced to check out on the floor they were on before they could continue going higher into the building. With their first shopping bag in hand, the Sinnoh-region Trainers continued their mall trip.

Dusk read the sign that was perched near the entrance to the store. "'Accessories'?"

"Er...Accessories for what? Humans or Pokémon?"

The question went unanswered until they found out for themselves. It seemed that there was a bit of equipment for both of Dawn's guesses.

Dusk lifted up a nearby item. "...Mittens? For Pokémon?"

"Pokémon have to get cold too, you know..." Dawn answered.

"I guess...Be slightly strange to see a Noctowl come out of a Pokéball pimped out with red mittens though, don't you think?"

Dawn laughed. "Obviously the gift is a bit Pokémon-pending."

"Hey, what's that..." Dusk quickly ran over a few aisles, his eyes locked onto something.

Dawn followed him, but at a much more casual pace. "_I wonder how he knows what a Noctowl's like? We haven't come across one yet...Come to think of it, he's mentioned a few random Pokémon so far, hasn't he? A single week in, and already he's understanding Pokémon...Whoever his father is, he must have been a great Pokémon Trainer. That's the only way Dusk would know so much_." Dawn chuckled when she realized she was lost in thought.

"Check it out." When his friend got close enough, Dusk held out a bandana. It was a cheery lime green with a Pokéball in its center, which was colored white.

"...I-I'm sorry, Dusk, but if you wear that, you have to get an entire new wardrobe. I mean, it wouldn't match at all..."

"It's not for me! I'll get it for Wizard."

"Really? Wizard? Don't you think it'd bother his ears?"

"I'll fold it so it won't...Do you think I shouldn't get it at all?"

"No, of course not! I was just thinking..." Her voice trailed off, which made Dusk curious.

"Thinking of what?"

"It's just, uhm...Nevermind. It's kinda selfish."

"Dawn, it's me. I really don't care about anything like that."

"Er...You buying that accessory for your Pokémon just got me thinking...That, maybe..."

Dusk smiled. He was pretty sure he knew what she was struggling to get out. "Yes...?"

"It just got me thinking that...M-maybe I should buy an accessory for Charmy too! That way, he won't think that I like Sunnite more than him."

Dusk looked at the bandana he was still holding, the smile still on his face. "...That wasn't what you were going to tell me, was it?"

"...Wh-what do you mean? Are you thinking...?"

"Well, if it's all right with you...I don't want to steal your thunder or anything..."

"Dusk, of course it's all right!" Dawn gripped her hands tightly around Dusk's back once more. She closed her eyes as her head rested on his chest. "Dusk, we could enter tag team tournaments...And we could train against each other...How long have you been thinking of being a Coordinator?"

"Well...Ever since you told me you wanted to be one."

"Copycat," Dawn teased.

Dusk ignored the mock. He only rubbed Dawn's back with the opposite hand that was holding the bandana. Though he didn't want to admit it to Dawn, he was relieved that nobody else was on this floor.

Never being able to get the fact that they were in a public mall out of his mind, Dusk decided to suddenly end the hug. To divert Dawn's disappointment, however, he kept a firm grip on her hand. "Let's go buy this, then we'll continue."

"Okay!"

"That'll be $3.50..." the uninterested cashier woman said after scanning the item.

"_Yeah, just be glad I ain't no secret shopper, lady_..." Dusk tried his hardest to smile as he reached for his wallet.

"No, Dusk! Let me buy it for you."

"Dawn? No, you already bought me the gloves. It's fine."

The cashier began tapping her fingers on the counter. She didn't really care who paid for it, as long as they just hurried up and left her alone.

"Please, Dusk?" she begged in the voice that was impossible for Dusk to react negatively to. "I put you through alot today too, and I really want you to know that I'm sorry for it..."

Though he could have easily countered her second point, Dusk still couldn't recover from her beg. "...A-all right."

"Thank you, Dusk!" Dawn temporarily removed her hand from Dusk's so she could grab her own money and hand it to the cashier.

"Come again...or not." Without so much as offering a bag, nor a receipt, the bandana was handed to Dusk.

Behind Umbreon's false smile was clenched teeth. Behind his clenched teeth was a hissing tongue.

Cast-covered hand in burned hand, Dawn and Dusk made their way to the highest floor, which was the dining area.

Dusk noticed an ice cream stand that was still open. "Do you want to get something?"

"I'd love to, but I can't have ice cream before I go to bed..." Dawn oddly stopped there.

"...Won't get to sleep?" Dusk had to ask.

"I'll be bouncing off the walls all night," she finally admitted with a laugh.

Dusk pulled out a chair for Dawn and indicated for her to sit in it. After she did so and he pushed the chair back in, Dusk walked over to the stand anyway and got two large glasses of milk.

He returned and set one down on both sides of the metal, uncomfortable table, then took his own seat. "People never realize how much healthier milk is anyway."

Dawn swirled her drink around. "Dusk...I...I know I shouldn't ask this, but I really have to...Are you mad at me?"

Umbreon blinked. "Well...Not that I know of."

"Oh...Well, okay, then," Dawn replied rather plainly.

The male took a sip of the milk. "Why would I be?"

"Well, it's just, you know...If I wasn't here, you could have gotten ice cream instead..."

Dusk almost choked on his drink. "_This again?!_" He finally recovered, but cleared his throat anyway. "Dawn, even as...closer friends, I don't want us to lose our independence. If I wanted ice cream, I would have gotten it. If we do things together, I want them to be because both of us want to do them. Like being Coordinators...Or trying skim milk for the first time."

To say Dawn was stunned would be downplaying her current emotion. "...Oh, um...Sure. Sounds good."

"Let's face it, Dawn, if we ride on each other's necks for everything we do, we're bound to get pissed off at each other. But at the same time, I want to do as much as I can with you too, you know? That's why I get angry when you ask me things like that...If you don't want ice cream, I don't want it either. And if you can't explore caves, then I don't want to explore them either."

Dawn blushed. She was expecting Dusk to just shake the question off somehow, not give a speech about it.

"...Bit over the top, huh?"

"No, Dusk!" she quickly retorted. "I'm glad...that I know how you feel, now. It makes things easier on me. I was...scared that you wouldn't make a sacrifice like that for me."

"...You were asleep when I burned my hand for May, weren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but that was May! She's made so many sacrifices for all of us, it's hard not to feel like we owe her something...I mean, what have I done besides whine in your ear all day?"

"You showed me what it's like to be a friend, for one thing."

Dawn's heart stopped beating once or twice. "Wh-what?"

"Then you helped me when I was absolutely clueless against those Starly back on Route 202."

"'You already considered me a friend by then? We hadn't even known each other for three hours..."

"Anybody who gets Rowan out of my house is a friend to me."

Dawn laughed.

"Dawn? I really don't want to embarrass you, but I have to ask something..." He dug inside his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper that he had spotted before while cleaning the PokéCenter's room up. "When did you write this?"

Despite what Dusk wanted, the girl immediately blushed upon seeing the note. "Oh...you, uhm...saw that...I, uhm..."

"...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." Dusk put the paper back in his pocket.

"No! I think...you have the right to know...The truth is, I wrote that...in the dark. Under your blanket. Remember when I got really cold, and you gave me your blanket?"

"You wrote that on the first night we knew each other?!" Dusk yelled quietly.

"Well, kinda. I have to confess...When I first saw you, I was annoyed. I figured you were just another kid with the blind dream of being a 'Pokémon Master'...Whatever exactly they are. But then we got talking, and I...just knew that you weren't like that. Then after you finally changed out of your night clothes, I guess..." Dawn's face turned even redder, even though she smiled shyly through it. She didn't know it'd be this hard to recall the story from her point of view. "...That's when I got a small crush on you. But then you started saying that 'we're just friends' line to everybody that remarked on us being a couple, and I understood that my crush was sorta unfounded...But, eventually, I noticed that you got saying it less and less, and I began to wonder if...you know...maybe there was a chance. That's when I blind-sided you in Celestic Town."

Dusk's emotion-lacking face only made it harder for Dawn to feel comfortable again.

"...If I close my eyes really tightly, can we just forget I ever said that?"

Dusk laughed, somewhat amused by the tale. "No, Dawn. I'm glad you told me that."

"It wasn't worth the embarrassment..." Dawn rested her arms on the table and let her head hide behind them.

"Would it make you feel any better if I told you that there was a reason I stopped saying that less and less?"

Dawn's head quickly rose.

The boy at the table chuckled. "I guess it's my turn, huh? Truth is, I guess I've always sorta had my own crush on you, too. I can't deny it, instead of writing our initials with a heart around it, I was out cold, but besides that...And I guess I've always wondered why I was one of your first friends. You're too nice to have gone fourteen years without meeting anybody."

"Well, you know...It goes back to the orphan thing, like I said back in Eterna..."

"That's a terrible thing to say about yourself, Dawn. Just because you..." He drowned some more milk down his throat. It was a good way to stall while words formed in his mind. "temporarily had nobody to take care of you, that doesn't decide your status or anything like that."

"Dusk, it's okay," she stated while taking her first drink of the healthy beverage in front of her. "I've ran it through my head that my entire family's left me so many times, I'm used to it by now."

"While we're on this whole confession thing...There's kinda something I didn't want to tell you yet, but I just can't wait any longer..."

Dawn nearly spit the milk out of her mouth.

Dusk hardly even seemed to notice. "See, sometime today, Brendan and I kind of noticed something..."

Her state changed from surprise to confusion in the blink of an eye.

"The nurse for the Veilstone Pokémon Center has gone missing."

Dawn patted her mouth with a napkin, understanding that the conversation wasn't going in the direction she first thought it was. "_Umbreon, you really could have worded your first sentence better_...Why, what's wrong?"

"We don't know...We got talking about it, and...We think she might have been kidnapped."

Dawn slammed her arms on the table, though she minded the other shoppers that were in the area. "Dusk, that's terrible!"

"Yeah, I know...We weren't really sure what to do. Eventually, we just decided we'd go looking for this guy ourselves, but..."

Dawn stood up from the chair and walked in the opposite direction a few steps, keeping Umbreon at her back. "Oh...I just realized why this is a confession..."

Dusk also stood up. "I'm really sorry...I know that I should have come to you too, but c'mon, Dawn! You threatened to kill yourself! With something like that floating inside of your mind, I couldn't take the chance at how you'd react to this...Nevertheless, I know it was wrong, and there's no excuse for that. I'm sorry, Dawn."

Dawn laughed, though she had trouble getting much power behind it. "Don't apologize. I think I worried everybody when I said that, huh? I'm sorry, Dusk, but...should I feel bad...for feeling good that I scared everybody like that?"

"What do you mean?" Dusk sat back down, not wanting this to be a scene.

"I just...When you and Brendan jumped me after I said that, it just hit me that...I'm important to the team, you know? Like, maybe you couldn't do this without me..."

"Dawn, we can't do this without you!"

"I know, and I know that you've said that alot of times already...I-I'm sorry. We're getting off-topic, huh?" Dawn returned to her seat. "So what are we supposed to do about this?"

"...Kinda funny. I was hoping I'd be able to ask you."

"I'm pretty sure it's been unanimously decided that you're Team Missile's captain, so I'm not in a place to suggest much anyway," Dawn countered, smiling.

Dusk chuckled. "You're really getting into this Team Missile thing, aren't you?"

"It's a phase. As soon as we stop seeing Team Rocket for awhile, it'll go away."

Umbreon laughed, though his expression soon turned back to seriousness. "I got thinking...If you don't mind, maybe you and May should sleep in the same room tonight. Brendan and I will sleep in the other."

"...I-I don't know, Dusk...I'm scared to be around May anymore. I barely trust myself anymore."

"Would you rather Brendan...er..." He carefully chose his words. "sleep somewhere in the same room with you?"

"Why can't I be with you?"

"We don't have any fully-evolved Pokémon."

Dawn blinked. "What's that have to do with anything?"

"If we don't find this guy, what's stopping him from going back to the PokéCenter? I doubt a foot-high penguin and mouse. If we were to each have one of the other two with us, though, a giant chicken and robot might scare him off easier."

"_I don't need Pokémon...You'd protect me_..."

Dusk noticed the person he was talking to spaced out. "Dawn?"

"...What?! Oh, sorry...What were you saying?"

"It was just a suggestion. If you don't feel comfortable around the other two yet, then that's fine."

"I-I'm sorry, Dusk...I'll do whatever you want to, okay?"

"Dawn, what's on your mind?"

"What? Nothing," she attempted, knowing that it wouldn't work..

"You're always apologetic when you're nervous about something. What is it?"

Dawn blushed. "I'm that predictable, huh? I just got thinking of when it'd be my turn again..."

Dusk finished the last of his drink that he had been slowly draining during their conversation. "Great. I was hoping there would be more."

"Dusk, I have one last confession to make...The past week, I, uhm...Oh, I can't believe I have to say this..." Dawn took advantage of not having her bandana on and let her eyes fall behind her bangs. "Dusk, for the past week, I guess I've kinda been...looking down on you." Dawn smiled after she gave her friend a few seconds to react. He didn't. "See, it's just...you're new. I was expecting to be a mentor, especially after you wondered 'if your Pokémon was supposed to be on fire.' But, between your Pokédex and instinct, I haven't been needed once. You mentioning a Noctowl earlier tonight was kinda the final nail in the coffin. You're probably even better then me by now..."

"...Nah."

That wasn't the reaction Dawn was expecting. "...What? 'No,' what?"

"There's no way I'm actually a better Trainer then you. Some of the things you pulled on Venus earlier, I would have never thought of. Like the whole 'shadow' thing."

"Dusk, that was just me having fun...You can't possibly consider that worth any--"

"It was a strategy. It confused the opponent, and it worked. Whether you were having fun in the process was a side effect."

Dawn, once more, blushed. "_This boy can shut me up, can't he?_"

"Are we all done with these confession things?"

"Yeah, I think so," Dawn chuckled.

"I don't know about you, but I wanna get out of here. I think that ice cream guy's been watching us the entire time." Dusk grabbed the bandana Dawn had purchased for him and got out of the chair.

Dawn pushed some hair behind her ear before also standing up. "Was that really the first time you've had skim milk?"

-----------------

"Do you think that Umbreon and Dawn are back at the Pokémon Center yet?" May wondered, still waiting for her meal to arrive.

Brendan was patting Torchic on the head as a means to pass the time until his meal was served as well. "Why?"

"I just hate lying to Dawn like this..."

"You're rubbing off on the kid, May. When, or if, Dawn ever finds out, she'll just forget about it."

"I hope so. Brendan...What...favor did Dawn ask you to do?"

"Er..." Brendan froze.

"She said something about that back in the Pokémon Center, but I wasn't sure what it was..."

"Oh, she just wanted to borrow some dough, that's all. You know how teenage girls are at a shopping mall better than I do. Hopefully." Brendan forced himself to laugh.

May, however, just stared at the table. "Brendan, your story has a flaw. She wanted to give us all of her money tonight. Why would she be asking for some from us? Besides that, we've been together every day for the past four years and two months. I know when you're lying."

"Er, yeah, I guess so..." He coughed. "_Man, women are good at that_...All right, metaphorically, the Charmander wanted its tail to be put out."

May's gaze shot at Brendan. "D-Dawn wanted to...?"

"Don't worry, you saw how she was. Whatever Dusk told her, it worked."

"I can't believe Dawn would kill herself because of me..."

"Trust me, you weren't the only reason. That girl had so many things running through her head, accusing just one isn't very fair."

"...E-excuse me, Brendan, I have to use the restroom."

"Don't let me stop you." Brendan was bored enough to pick up a napkin and throw it on top of Torchic. The act got a chuckle out of Wizard, and a series of flaming insults out of Torchic.

May began leaving the table. As soon as she stood up, somebody bumped into her from the back. She lost her balance and fell back down on the booth.

"Watch where you're going, girl!" the man scolded.

May recovered from the event and looked apologetically at the tall person in front of her. "Sir, I'm so sorry! I didn't even see you there!"

"I noticed. Just stay out of my way!"

"Hey, buddy, what's your problem?!" Brendan got out in the middle of the aisle, letting him get a look at the man in front of him. His hair was professionally combed. His lean body was covered with an orange business suit with a plain red tie around his neck. One guest at the Hoenn Trainer's table recognized him instantly.

"PIKA!" Wizard jumped on the table and got down on all fours. Small sparks were discharging from his cheeks.

The man noticed the Pokémon staring at him in a defensive stance. "What? Aren't you that stupid, unkempt Pikachu that I saw back in Eterna City?" He smirked. "What are you doing here with these two? Did your other Trainers finally disband you? It's rather unfortunate that you still can't find Trainers who know what a comb is..."

May sat up-right. "Wizard? You know this man?"

"Ka." He nodded at May, but quickly returned his attention to the unpleasant acquaintance.

"Good, so we're all old friends. Last time I checked, that still doesn't give you the right to push her down!"

The man waited for Brendan to continue. "...And?"

"And here's where you apologize and make yourself scarce!"

"If that girl watched where she was going, we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place. I'm not going to apologize for something that isn't my fault. Now if I could ask you to get out of my way, I was about to leave the building."

"Oh no you ain't! You ain't goin' nowhere until you apologize to May, you got that?"

"Use proper grammar. It's insulting talking to a person of your caliber."

Brendan stamped his foot on the ground. "What did you just say?!"

By this time, everybody in the restaurant was looking at them. None, however, were brave enough to interrupt.

"You talk like an imbecile. If I wanted to talk in slang language, I'd go to the lovely land of Hoenn where all the cats who dig for food in trash cans live."

"Brendan, please just sit back down...I'm not mad at him for pushing me! Just let it go!" May begged.

"Sorry, May. The last person that insulted Hoenn to my face winded up in jail. If you're looking to get me sent there on the count of a murder charge, boy, I'd be happy to oblige..."

He grunted. "Hmph. Empty threats. Don't over-exert yourself, young man. Excuse me." He sidestepped Brendan and continued walking through the building. It didn't take him long to exit the building, though Brendan watched his every move until he did.

The Trainer stood in the middle of the aisle. His fist was shaking in pure rage.

May took Wizard into her arms and hugged him. "Brendan, please, calm down..."

"...What a way to ruin an appetite. I need some fresh air." Brendan stormed off towards the same door.

"Wizard?"

"Pika?" Wizard looked up at her. Most of his anger appeared to be gone.

"...Who was that man?"

---------------

Dusk and Dawn reached the exit to the building. They walked outside to feel the calming, warm night breeze that blew across the city.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Dawn wondered, unmoving from her position.

"Let's head back to the Pokémon Center for now. We'll see if Brendan and May got back yet. If they are, then we'll go from there. If they're not there yet...I guess I should probably call my mom..."

The duo started retracing their steps to the Center.

"Oh! And I should call the Celestic Pokémon Center so they can get your blanket."

"Nah, don't bother. If we're heading to Mount Coronet, we'll have to pass by Celestic again anyway."

Dawn's head fell low. "Dusk...you're a good friend...aren't you?"

Dusk was caught off-guard. "Er...I don't know. Kind of a hard question to answer when it's directed at me, isn't it?"

"You wouldn't...make fun of me, would you?"

"Well...That perfume choice was a little odd."

Dawn ignored it, telling herself that she'd yell at him later for saying that. "Dusk, I'm...scared of Coronet."

"We all are."

"Yeah, but, Dusk, if my Coronosis comes back, I won't be able to walk, so somebody's going to have to carry me..." The girl's eyes couldn't seem to lift off of her boot. "I won't be able to battle. I'll kind of be too unconscious for that..."

"I think...Kartock's right. Maybe you shouldn't follow us. If you're thinking about it this much now, then the medicine that you got won't be able to last long."

Dawn sighed. "I'm sorry, Dusk...I'm just a big crybaby. I want to help you, even though I can't, then I get all upset over it..."

"I want you to go, but it's too dangerous. I'm sorry, Dawn...Don't think of it that you're useless. You just--"

Her head stayed low. "Don't bother, Umbreon...I know...I-I'll stay out of your way."

Dusk didn't want to leave it on that note, but wasn't sure what else to say. Dawn was never "in the way," but Dusk couldn't focus on Team Galactic if he knew that Dawn was moments from dying of Coronosis.

An idea struck him. "You know...I might go insane being a few thousand feet above sea level without my best friend by my side. Dawn, if you wouldn't mind, could I take your scarf with me?"

Dawn jerked her head to the side, specifically to validate Umbreon's seriousness. "...Wh-what?"

"I mean, just for Coronet. Ever since you gave it to me back in Orebugh, I guess...I've sorta come to associate you with it. If that makes sense," he added with a light laugh. "But, if you don't want to, that's fine, too."

Bringing her head back down to stare at the passing road, the teenage girl equipped an unsure smile. "You should consider yourself lucky. If anybody else said the words, 'take,' 'Dawn,' and 'scarf' in the same sentence, I'd probably smack them. But...You were careful with it once, so I know you'll do it again." Dawn brought her hands behind her neck to begin undoing the knot in the scarf. However, Dusk set his hand on top of hers, stopping her. Another effect it had was causing Dawn's cheeks to turn a little red.

"Not yet. I want it at the entrance to Coronet, okay?"

Dawn nodded back, smiling and praying that Dusk couldn't see her blush.

By the time they had finished their conversation, they were already back at the PokéCenter. Both looked at each other and sighed, then walked towards the automatic doors. Upon them opening, however, they saw somebody who quickly turned Dusk's face red.

"Hello! Welcome to our Pokémon Center. Would you like us to heal your Pokémon?"

"...N-nurse?" Dusk stumbled over his words.

"Oh, my name's Joy. If you've been to Sandgem Town, you'd know my sister."

Dawn blinked. "_I-is every nurse in every Town in every country somehow related_..._?_"

"Why weren't you here earlier?" Dusk continued.

A sour look crossed over Joy's face. "Three crooks forced me to come with them, or else they'd take all the Pokémon being cared for here..."

Dusk slammed his head into his hand. "Please don't tell me..."

"I had no choice but to follow them. They led me all the way up to Route 210 when a nice young boy battled them for me and won! Before they could react to anything else, the boy took me by the arm and dashed off...He was quite a speedy little guy, too!" Joy giggled.

At first, Dawn passed off the description. It took her a few seconds to realize that she knows somebody like that. "What did the boy look like?!" she hurriedly shouted.

"Let's see...He had blonde hair with a red and white shirt. He looked about the same height as you two, actually. He was rather..." Joy cleared her throat. "...excited, as well."

"Jun's here?!" both Trainers exclaimed, Dawn being slightly louder.

"Oh, you know him? Tell him I said thanks again next time you see him!"

The doors opened up behind the Sinnoh Trainers before they could reply. Standing on the other side was Brendan, looking out of breath.

"Hello, and welcome to our Pokémon Center! Would you like us to heal your Pokémon?" Joy repeated to the new guest.

"Brendan?" Dawn asked.

"Boy, you two sure know alot of people, don't you?" Joy thought out loud.

Brendan winced at the fourth member. "Joy?! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be kidnapped!--Oops...I mean, you're, uh..."

"It's fine, Brendan. I already told Dawn about it," Dusk comforted.

Brendan sighed. "Good. Right now, I do not feel like making another story up. So, what's new?"

"I was about half right..." Dusk's voice trailed off.

Joy happily repeated her story once more, this time adding in the boy's name.

Brendan folded his arms. "...Well, huh. So you're all right?"

"Yes, of course, thanks to Jun!"

"A'ight, good. I got to get back to May and tell her what happened. Ho ho, just wait until you hear about the character we met tonight." Brendan, though still out of breath, jogged his way back to the restaurant.

Dawn looked at Dusk, then back at the nurse. "Sooo...Wanna heal my Piplup while we wait?"

Joy chuckled, which turned into laughter. "Of course." She accepted the Pokéball from Dawn and walked into the back room.

Dusk threw his head back and watched the lighting fixture that was planted on the ceiling carefully. "Please don't tell me that I could correctly guess who the three criminals were..."

"Fine. I won't tell you, then."

Dusk sulked. His shoulders sagged low. "How many buildings do I need to blow up until they finally get a hint?!"

Dawn looked at her specifically-crafted watch. "Dusk, it's already quarter past nine...You should call your mom."

"All right." Dusk began walking for the phones, but stopped when he noticed Dawn wasn't following him. "Don't you want to talk to her too?"

"I'm sure she misses you alot more than me...You should atleast give her that much," she answered, hands nervously located behind her back.

"What are you going to do, then?"

"If Jun was on Route 210, there's a slim shot that Veilstone was his next target." Dawn turned her head towards the doors. "I'll see if I can track him down."

Dusk was insulted by how much jealousy coursed through his body. He tried as hard as he could to forget about it, nodded his head, and continued walking for the telephones.

Dawn ran out the door, knowing she had her work cut out for her.

"_Jun...Why does she always worry about him so much? Was it when they teamed up against Team Rocket back in Eterna? I mean...We've teamed up, too_..." Dusk frowned as he finished dialing the last digit of his phone number.

The night continued rolling on. Dusk hung up with his mother and looked at his Pokétch. "_Ten...Forty-five minutes, and none of them are back yet?_" Bored, he decided to investigate.

He walked past the nurse, who was busy writing something down on a paper, and continued out the door. Once outside, he looked to his left, then right, where he spotted a figure laying down in the grass, leaning their back on a tree. The street lamp's light faded before it reached them, so Dusk had to walk over himself to find out who it was.

He stopped moving when he heard the voice talk. Upon squinting further, he also saw another person on the opposite side of the tree. He was leaning on it with a single leg. He decided to get into earshot, but not make himself known.

"I'd just let Umbreon decide for himself."

"..._Was that Dawn?!_" Dusk shouted at himself."_Then is that Jun_..._?_"

"I know I should, but I still feel like I need to be in the middle of it, you know? If Umbreon doesn't watch himself, he's going to get in alot of trouble..."

"_All right, many things wrong with those sentences,_" Umbreon decided.

"I know...And maybe you should. Why don't we go find Dusk and let him decide? I think his opinion should count, too."

Dusk's eyebrows shot downwards. "_What the--_"

"Dusk?" Without even getting up, Dawn turned her head and noticed him standing not that far away. "What are you doing way over there? C'mon!"

Umbreon cautiously made his way over to the other two.

"Hey, buddy, what's goin' on?! How's it goin'? Where's Wizard? That cute little guy was so cute, I set the picture I took of him back in Eterna to my desktop! It's awesome, he's looking directly at my minutes. Anyway, Dawn was telling me your Pokémon got stolen. That makes sense! I mean, why you're chasing after Team Galactic and everything. I really want to help, so you just point me in the direction I have to go, and I'm there!"

He took a deep breath, but didn't take long enough for Dusk to sneak a word in. "Seriously, I've picked up an extra three miles per hour since you and I met last. Probably all the running I do. Haha! Anyway, so really, what's new with you? Oh, did you hear?! I saved the nurse from those Galactic idiots! Yeah, it was pretty awesome. Torterra did all the work, but I made a bunch of cool poses while telling it what to do! Haha!"

Jun's head quickly shifted to the side. "Actually, I suppose I should get going. Got the need to speed! Sorry we couldn't talk longer, Dusk! I give you my word that I got your back like a brother when you go up against Galactic next, all right? Nobody hurts a pretty lady like that with me around and gets away with it! And nobody better not go stealin' none'a my friend's Pokémon, you got that? You got that, Team Galactic?! We'll show 'em! That's it, I got the need to go beat up a few guys with blue hair. Um, no offense, Dawn! I'll see you later, Dusk! Great talking to you, Dawn!" As what was clearly a trademark of Jun's, he speeded away, almost instantly disappearing from the Trainer's limited view.

"...That was...long," Dusk stated slowly, observing the road Jun had disappeared on.

Dawn turned her head back to the sky and giggled. "I'm not sure if you heard it or not, but somewhere in that jumbled maze of words, Jun really does want to help you..."

"Why was he talking so calmly around you?"

"We had already been talking for half an hour...Trust me, he was just as excited when he first saw me. But, eventually, he will calm down, and you find out that he really is a good friend."

"Ah. I...see."

Dawn turned her head to Dusk. "Hey, Dusk? Could you help me up?"

The boy walked over and held his left arm out so Dawn could grab it with her non-casted hand.

"Dusk, that hand's probably still burned. Give me the other one."

Though reluctant, Dusk switched hands.

Dawn grabbed it and pulled herself up. Instead of releasing his hand when she got to her feet, however, she kept pulling until she fell into a position that she could equip her arms around Dusk comfortably. She finally did so, latching her arms from Dusk's upper back, leading all the way up to his shoulders. She put her head softly on his collarbone and closed her eyes. "Dusk, I would never cheat on you like that. And if I did, I'd shoot higher than Jun."

He put his arms behind her back and rested his chin on the top of Dawn's head. He also closed his eyes before speaking. "Why are you always so worried about him?"

"Because..." Safely out of view of Dusk, Dawn turned her eyes downward in depression. "Well, with a long story short, you could say that I always worry about any friend that's not within my sight, you know? And with Jun being as reckless as he is, I'm just afraid that something's going to happen to him."

"It's inevitable," the boy replied, a smart smirk on his face. "The wind will probably blow his hair into his face while he's running, and he'll crash into a tree or something."

The strong example got a healthy laugh out of Dawn. She quieted to a giggle as she nuzzled into Dusk's body farther.

"...Go."

Dawn blinked her eyes. Without dropping the embrace, she moved her head back to look into Umbreon's dimly-lit eyes. "Huh?"

"Go. Go hang out with Jun, if you want to. I just remembered that I need to do something else, anyway."

She didn't move. A moment later, however, she dove back into her friend's arms. "Thank you, Dusk."

He gave a thoughtful moan in response.

"Don't wait up for me, dear." With one last tight grip and content smile, Dawn bolted down the road in the foolish attempt to catch up to Jun.

-----------------------------

"May? Are you all right?"

Dusk had made it back to the PokéCenter. In one of the always-empty chairs, May was sitting down, holding her arm, panting heavily. The nurse was behind the counter as always, apparently cleaning her small space out a bit.

"I'm fine, thank you, Umbreon. The nurse had to take off my bandage and spray something else on it...It really stung, but I'm doing better now, I guess." May threw her head back, closed her eyes, and let out a quick breath of air. "And a little tired, after all of today."

"Want a friend?"

"Sure!" May was excited she'd finally have someone to talk to. "Sorry, Wizard isn't here right now...Brendan challenged him to a rematch because Wizard and I beat him in the race earlier."

Dusk laughed, taking a seat next to May. After the insanity that had happened today, he had forgotten about the events of the morning. "Actually, that's a good thing. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, uhm..." Dusk fidgeted in his seat. He twirled his index finger around in a circle on the arm rest. "Remember, back in Oreburgh? After Dawn passed out in the cave, and we were in the waiting room, I...apologized for something, but didn't really tell you what it was."

"Um...I'm really sorry, Umbreon. I can't say that I do remember that," May laughed. "I guess other things happened in Oreburgh City that got my mind off of it. Anyway, what about it?"

"The thing is...See...I kind of called you a slut behind your back." Dusk shut his eyes tightly.

May blushed. "...Oh."

His eyes gradually opened back up. "I'm so sorry, May...When we first met--"

"Umbreon? Before you continue, I...since you were honest with me, I owe it to you to be honest with you, as well. I..." May really wished Wizard was with her at the moment. She needed something to squeeze in between her arms. "When we first met...I thought you had a mental illness." May also slammed her eyelids shut, fearful of her friend's reaction.

A wry smile grew on Dusk's face. "...Wh-what?"

"I'm so sorry, Umbreon...But I had...never seen anybody wear a beret in public like that before. It's not fair, it could just be a Sinnoh thing, I don't know!" she finished quickly. A brief pause later told her that she didn't finish well, so she tried again. "I feel terrible a thought like that even crossed my mind...Again, I'm so s--"

May's feeling of awkwardness only grew worse when Dusk started laughing. "Should we forgive each other?" he asked after calming down.

"Please, let's!" May reached over with her right hand and hugged Dusk from across the gap in the chairs.

Dusk completed the gesture, but the uncomfortable angle discouraged him from hugging for long. He returned to his seat and rubbed his chin. "May, I've been meaning to ask you, though..."

"Mm-hm?" she responded happily, thrilled that she had gotten that guilt off of her chest.

"Why have you been calling me by my actual name lately?"

"Oh...You prefer your nickname?"

"It doesn't really matter to me, I've just been curious."

"Well, the truth is..." May tucked her head into her collar and smiled shyly. "I thought that, maybe, you only wanted to be called your nickname by Dawn..."

Dusk's face grew a little pink. "Oh...I, um, see what you mean..."

"You two shouldn't be so embarrassed anymore! You're really great friends, and it was...sorta too bad if you had left it at that, you know?" May's tired state having got to her, she gave a cheerful laugh. "But I'm probably not helping the situation much, am I? Where is Dawn, anyway?"

"She was going to try to track a friend down," Dusk answered, feeling jealousy forming in the pit of his stomach. He decided to divert his attention elsewhere. "May, I'm sorry, but do you hear something?"

"Like what?"

The Pokémon Center doors opened, but nobody walked through. Dusk, being closer to the door than May, leaned over to look outside. Upon seeing what was happening, he laughed and almost fell out of his seat.

"Umbreon? What is it?" May asked, curiosity scratching at her skin.

Outside the doors, Wizard was pulling Brendan's shoe as hard as he possibly could, trying to drag the heavy Hoenn Trainer into the building. Brendan was on the ground, sweating and panting heavily.

"Pika...chu...Pika...chu..."

Dusk finally leaned over so far, the chair tipped to the side and he fell to the floor. Yet, he didn't stop laughing.

"UMBREON! I swear, if that's you laughing up there, you're gonna get it! Tomorrow, your rat and I are going to race again, and this time, I'm takin' the backpack off! Then we'll see who wins!" Brendan lifted his hand up to his worn-out hamstrings and pushed lightly. The result was a great deal of pain. "...Ow. Or, maybe not."

----------------------

"Dawn, it's fine! Really! Don't worry about it! 'Course you can hang with me!"

"If you're sure...I just don't want to step on your feet or anything. Maybe I could buy you dinner, or something?"

Dawn had managed to track Jun down in the same restaurant Brendan and May were in. The crowd in the building had died down slightly since a few hours ago, but it was still busy enough to feel crowded.

"Dawn, I'm starting to get upset that you're getting so upset about it! Hey, I know! How about I buy you dinner? That should make you feel better!"

Dawn flushed with embarrassment. She could only imagine what Dusk would think if he found out that she'd basically gone on a date with Jun. "No, really, it's fine. I shouldn't stay too long, anyway. So, you all ready for the next Galactic encounter?"

"It's only natural!" Jun boasted, pointing at himself with a thumb. "My Pokémon and I have been waiting for this moment our whole lives! That's a really long time! Can't wait to go all back-to-back with you against those space creeps on Coronet! We'll blow 'em right off that mountain!" Jun pounded his fists into the table out of pure excitement. He whistled loudly, which turned a few annoyed heads toward him. "Imagine how epic that's going to be!"

"Oh...Yeah, about that..." Dawn nervously played with a metal fork so her eyes could stay away from Jun's. "Jun, I-I'm not going to be able to fight against Team Galactic in Mount Coronet."

"What?!" he screamed, jumping out of his seat. Half of the restaurant was looking at him by this point. "Why not?! C'mon, it'll be just like in Eterna, except more epic, and Dusk'll even be there! We can get the old team back together!"

"Jun, please believe me, I really want to, but...I have a medical condition, and I can't enter caves or anything. The air really gets to me, and I pass out almost instantly."

"So?"

Dawn blinked. "Er...How am I supposed to go through Mount Coronet if I can't go through anything with 'mount' in its name?"

"Uh, duh!" Relieving Dawn, the hyperactive boy finally sat back in his seat. "Go over it!"

Dawn couldn't stop her expression from turning blank. "I...I never thought of that. But what if Galactic's inside?"

Jun shook his head. "No, no. If they're going to Coronet at all, it's obvious what they want. Dialga and Palkia!"

"Wait, what? Dialga and Palkia?" Dawn put her arm on the table and leaned forward slightly. "You mean those two statues back at Eterna?"

"Yup! Except they want the real things, of course. See, on the peak of Mount Coronet is a place called Spear Pillar. Old farts say that Dialga and Palkia sleep there, or something."

"..._As you sleep on the peak of the Mountain of Spears_..." Dawn recalled the strange epitaphs on those statues saying.

"Thing is, nobody's actually seen Dialga or Palkia up there. It's said that they live in an entirely different dimension until Sinnoh needs their help, like in that neat battle against Darkrai that they had. There is one way to summon them both immediately, though. The Azure Flute. Play that tune on top'a Spear Pillar, and the Pokémon will automatically awaken! Of course, nobody really knows where the Azure Flute is either, but eh, whatever."

Dawn pondered the story for a moment. She couldn't believe that Jun was capable of studying up on things like this. "But, wait. If Galactic's already headed for Coronet, doesn't that kinda mean...?"

"Probably. Either way, it won't matter. There's no way that Dialga or Palkia would even listen to those funnel-heads anyway."

"Jun, thank you, for everything. I don't know, though...I mean, scaling a mountain from the outside? That's never really been my thing."

"Don't worry! Of course I'll do it with you," Jun agreed, apparently thinking she had asked. "Dawn, I and you've become such good buddies since the whole Galactic thing started back in Eterna, it'd be weird teaming up with anybody but you! If you're not going, I'm not either."

Dawn blushed. Jun's comforting tactics were odd after just getting off Dusk's. "What will I need? I mean...if I do go up?"

"Absolutely nothing! I mean, you might want to bring a jacket or something. In case you didn't know, we're kinda going up a mountain, and it gets a little nippy up there. Torterra can bring us up as high as he can until the slope gets too big, then I'll pull out my nifty pickaxes, and I'll tell Umbreon to put a rope in his mouth and carry you up the rest of the way! It'll be a snap! I'm used to climbing up mountains like that anyway, so don't worry about me. Don't worry about Umbreon, either! The little bugger has quite a knack for doing things like that. So, c'mon. You'll come with us, right?"

Dawn thought for a moment. She knew that Jun wasn't patient enough to wait for anything else. "It would be great to help Dusk out, but I'm not sure if he'd like me doing this...Actually, I'm not sure if I'd like me doing this. Would it be okay if I talked to Dusk first?"

"You do that! Because you know what? I know that guy like the back of my hand, and I know he won't let us down!" Jun exclaimed, popping out of the booth a second time and pumping his fists. "Sorry, Dawn, I gotta go. I'm too excited! I'll see you at Mount Coronet in, like, two hours, okay? See you there!" The boy dashed down the aisle, apologized to a waiter after crashing into him, and bolted out the door.

"_He...already ordered dinner_..." Dawn decided to also get up and leave before getting stuck paying the bill.

She made her way outside the building, albeit much more casually than her friend had. She could barely get onto the sidewalk before a familiar voice jumped her from the back.

"Oh, hey! Hey, Dawn!"

Dawn turned her head over her shoulder. She brought a hand to her chest and sighed. "Oh, Jun. You surprised me."

The blonde-haired boy ran in place, expelling an unnoticeable amount of his energy. "Yeah! Staying alert, right? Anyway, I forgot to ask. Wanna battle?"

"What?!" Dawn's eyes shot open. "You...want to battle me? Right now?"

"Sure! Of course!" He showed a happy grin. "No time like the present, am I right? So, put up your dukes and let's get crazy!" He suddenly stopped running. Instead, he brushed a hand through his hair. "Uh, I meant 'dukes' like arms, or something. I don't actually mean, you know, the girl things. That'd be pretty weird! Not that you're weird. I mean, sure, girls are weird, but you're not weird. Not that you're not a girl! I think? Anyway, what do you say? Wanna fight?"

"Uhm..." Dawn was pretty sure that she should have been offended. However, considering the words had come at a mile a minute, she couldn't make out what he had actually said. She was somewhat forced to let it slide. "A-actually, I'm pretty tired, so I shouldn't battle. May--"

"--be next time? Sure thing! Count on that one, and be ready! I'll see you around, Dawn!" With a wave, Jun turned around and blasted away in the opposite direction Dawn was heading.

The poor girl was left standing there, too confused to move.

----------------------

Dawn took her time getting back to the PokéCenter. Besides the refreshingly inviting breeze that she enjoyed, her mind was on Coronet. "_'Hey, Dusk, you don't mind if I climb a mountain with little to no safety gear, do you?'_" A long breath heaved its way out of her lips. "_For some reason, I'm not thinking he'll like that one._"

After awhile, she couldn't stand the mental torture that she was giving herself, so her mind drifted off to how she was possibly supposed to beat her friend, who was in possession of seven Gym badges. The only thing to snap her out of her thoughts was the Pokémon Center's doors opening in front of her. Slightly startled, she entered in the building to see all three of her friends sitting down in the seats available. Wizard was on Brendan's open palm, balancing himself on his head. The Pokemon's pointy tail was flying around in the air.

"Ta-da!" Brendan announced, highlighting the act.

"Hey, Dawn!" Dusk greeted upon noticing her.

"Hey, what's up?" Dawn asked, not even giving herself full attention. She looked around the otherwise-empty building. "Where's the nurse?"

"In the back," Brendan answered. His eyes never left Wizard. "You probably won't believe it, but somebody besides us had to use the Center. Weird, isn't it?"

Dawn turned her head to her Sinnoh companion. "Anyway, Dusk, I'm glad you're still awake. Could I ask to talk to you for a second?"

"In a minute." Dusk grabbed the beret off his head, showing the world his rarely-combed hair. "First, you might want to hear the old friend that Brendan and May ran into tonight."

"Old friend? Who?" Dawn inquired, silently wishing another seat was available. She stood in front of her friends awkwardly.

"We were at a booth in the restaurant earlier, and May had to get out," the male witness began. "Before she could stand up, some nutcase ran by and pushed her back down. Wizard here got all flippy about the guy. Then we told Umbry the story, and he filled in the other pieces."

"It has to be the same person we met back in Eterna," Dusk finished. "You know...The reason why that one Meowth didn't make it through the night."

"You killed a Meowth?" May quietly wondered.

Her question got lost when the younger girl talked a bit louder than May had. "What?! What's that guy doing here?!"

"Don't know. Wizard wanted to bite his head off, I know that." Brendan gripped Wizard and turned him right-side up. "Then again, maybe that was me."

Staring at Wizard for a moment, Dawn realized something was missing. "Oh, Dusk? You didn't give it to him yet?"

"Oh, that's right!" Dusk turned around and started digging through his backpack. "Hey, Wizard. Front and center."

Wizard jumped down from Brendan's hands and hit the floor. He casually dashed over to his Trainer.

"C'mon, where'd the thing...Oh, here it is. Wizard, I got this for you."

"Pikachu?" Wizard tilted his head to the side. "Pika pi?"

Dusk got to the ground on a single knee and revealed the item he had bought for his Pokémon. The boy was amused as his Pokémon stared at the green bandana in absolute silence. "Now, whether you want to wear it or not isn't your decision. From this day forward, there shall be no member of Team Missile seen in public without headwear on, capeesh?"

"Pika, chu!" he nodded cheerfully.

"_Aww..._" May clasped her hands together and put them between her knees. Her mind was on nothing but how Wizard would look after Dusk was finished. "_How adorable is that?_"

Umbreon had to mess around with a few ideas. The only one that came close to working, which involved putting the cloth between Wizard's ears and spreading it out from there, had no chance of staying attached to him in the smallest gust of wind.

A last idea hit him. After a total of three and a half minutes, Dusk had found the perfect solution.

"...Well? What do you think?"

"Dusk, it looks great on him!" Dawn complimented.

"Aww!" May thought she felt herself blush. "I knew he'd look adorable!"

"Lookin' good, buddy!" Brendan remarked.

Wizard smiled at the praise. "Piiika!"

Dusk ended up folding the rag in half, then half again, and wrapping it around Wizard's forehead. Though it wasn't exactly what he had thought of in his mind, Dusk decided that the resulting headband was plenty to accentuate Wizard's ability. The bottom half of the Pokéball design resided in the dead center of it.

"That reminds me! Did Dusk tell you two that he wants to be a Pokémon Coordinator, too?" Dawn added.

"'Ey, now we're talkin'. Gym battles are so late '90s, am I right?" Brendan patted Dusk on the shoulder.

"Umbreon, that's so wonderful...Good luck!" May sat back down in the chair. She was beginning to pant.

"May? What's wrong?" Brendan asked.

May wiped her forehead. To her own surprise, she found sweat there. "I'm sorry...I just got a little warm all of a sudden, that's all."

"Hey, May, why don't we just call it a night?" Brendan asked, his frustration hidden well from his voice. "We should get to sleep soon, anyway."

"R-right. Good night, Dawn, Umbreon." May stood up from the chair. She fell slightly off balance, but quickly steadied herself and walked towards their room. "Enjoy your headband, Wizard!" she called back before disappearing behind the door.

"Pika pi!" the Pikachu shouted back in thanks.

Brendan sighed. "Hope you didn't want too much of the spotlight tonight, Umbry."

"Wasn't it expecting it," he answered, rubbing Wizard's head vigorously, much to the Pokémon's bemusement.

"Brendan...what's wrong with May?" the remaining girl wondered. The excitement that had been in her voice died after seeing May like that.

"I don't know...She always gets dizzy when she doesn't eat, but the whole getting-warm thing is a curveball. I swear that if this is some woman thing, you're taking this one Dawn, not me."

"What's wrong? Don't know anything about it?" Dawn mocked with a wide smile.

Dusk snickered at Dawn's comeback. "Burrrrn."

"Oh yeah, you like making fun, huh?" Brendan raised his headband slightly higher on his forehead. "How about I get Sceptile out, and you get your little penguin thing out here, and we'll see you back up that claim?"

"...I-I'm good."

Brendan pointed at Dusk. "'Grats on the decision. Just don't cry when I beat the crap out of you in some Hoenn versus Sinnoh tourny, all right?"

Dusk chuckled. "If you say so."

"And you...!" His finger turned to Wizard. "I'll be seeing you on the starting line tomorrow morning, got it?"

Wizard clenched both of his paws. "Pika, Pika pika Chu!" he roared with a competitive smirk.

Pleased with the response, Brendan gave a wave as a means of farewell before following after May.

Wizard leapt up to Dusk's shoulder and patted his jaw. "Pika chu!"

Dusk scratched behind the mouse's ears. "No problem, buddy. Have fun with it."

Wizard quickly jumped off of Dusk and followed Brendan, hoping the Hoenn Trainer would open the door to Dusk's room so he could go to sleep himself. "Pika pika!"

"Hm?" Brendan glanced at his feet to see Wizard looking back up at him. The tall Trainer bent down to pick the Pokémon up. "Yeah, us headbandees need to stick together, right? Hats? Pssh. Bandanas? Ha!" Brendan gave another wave to the Trainers before twisting the doorknob. "You know, we should start a club..." he broached as his voice disappeared behind the door.

"I'm sorry, Dusk," Dawn stated meekly once the two were alone. "You probably had a bit more special way to tell them you wanted to be a Coordinator then that..."

"What?" Dusk zipped his backpack up. "Of course not."

"...C-can I apologize for anything else? I could really use the brownie points."

Dusk sighed. "With an educated guess, what would you say the odds are of me not wanting to know where this is going?"

"High," Dawn answered quickly. "Please hear me out! I met up with Jun again, and we got talking about Coronet. I explained to him how I couldn't go...But then..."

All of Dusk's weight was put on one leg. His arms also folded. Neither of those actions boosted Dawn's confidence any. "...Then?"

Heart beating like a drum, Dawn forced herself to blurt out the climax. "Dusk, Jun's willing to help me climb the mountain from the outside, and I think I should do it!"

Dusk hung his head low on his neck. "But--"

"Just earlier tonight you told me how much you wanted me to go, and now I can!" the girl pleaded. "My Coronosis obviously won't bother me if I never go into the mountain!"

"But then the prospect of you falling down a few thousand feet and splitting your head on a rock opens up."

Dawn's expression sunk. She wasn't expecting to win, but was somewhat proud of her effort. "...I-I told him that I wanted to talk to you before I gave him an answer. If you still don't want me to go, then I won't..."

Dusk put his hand on her shoulder, hoping it'd lift her head back up. "This time...I don't think I can tell you what to do. You need to decide."

Still with a feeling of lifelessness, Dawn elevated her head so she could create eye-contact with Dusk. "I can't make this decision without knowing what you think, though, Dusk..."

"Yes, you can. I can't, or won't always be able to tell you what to do. You have to decide if the reward is worth the risk. You know that I'd do anything to have you in my corner up there, but--" Umbreon stopped himself. He gently massaged Dawn's shoulder with the hand that was already on it. "...You decide, okay?"

Dawn gulped. She knew that she wasn't going to get what Dusk felt out of him. "...Okay. I understand. But, Dusk? No matter what I decide to do...we'll still be friends, right?"

Umbreon put a hand behind Dawn's head, and the other behind her back. He pulled her in close, letting her head rest on his right shoulder.

Dawn was too stunned to put her arms around Dusk's back right away.

Being so close to her ear, Dusk only whispered. "Dawn, whatever you do, nothing will change between us. If you don't follow us, you're not abandoning anybody. You're protecting us from worrying about you. And if you do follow us, you aren't betraying me. You're helping me get my Pokémon back. In my eyes, there really isn't a right or wrong answer to this."

Nothing but the noisy artificial lights above them could be heard in the building.

Moments later, Dawn finally collapsed her tension and put her arms around Dusk. "If I knew we would be this close again tonight, I would have put some of my perfume on..."

"Right now, I'm just glad that we are this close..."

The two eventually made their way into their room. Brendan had placed Wizard in the Sinnoh Trainers' room, where he was sleeping comfortably on the top bunk. The Pikachu's sole reign on the bed came to an end as Dusk moved him over so he could get on the bed himself. Dusk and Dawn whispered "Good night" to each other before laying down and putting this day behind them.


	16. Rude Awakening

"_If I went, and something did happen, Dusk would probably jump down after me and take the fall in a heartbeat...But then what? What would we gain by defeating Team Galactic if Dusk got killed off? Because of me, no less? I wish I could tell him to just let me fall and forget about me. He wouldn't agree to that. I know he wouldn't_."

The night had come and gone. Dusk was in the washroom. Wizard was amusing himself by bouncing up and down on Dusk's bed. Dawn, however, couldn't gather the strength to get out of her bed. She had only gotten about three hours of sleep, but none of her teammates were going to find that out if she had any say in it.

Dawn rolled over and curled into a ball. "_But...I know Dusk cares about me, too. It took him about twenty times of saying it, but I finally realized that I'm important to him...Why is this so hard? If I go, I might end up getting killed. If I don't go, my friends might need my help, and I couldn't give it to them. He'll never tell me, but I know that Dusk has decided what he wants me to do...But he's leaving it up to me. He probably wants me to stay put. He wouldn't want to put me in danger like that...But I have to go! I know that if this was the other way around, Dusk would run up that mountain for me in his bare feet if he had to...I owe it to him to be willing to do the same. Except, I'll probably keep my boots on_..."

The restroom door opened up. The boy on the other side of it sighed when he saw Dawn still laying in her bed. "Are you sick?"

"No, I'm not..." she murmured, frustrated by her lack of sleep. "I just can't stop thinking about Mount Coronet."

Dusk walked over to the bunkbeds and climbed the small ladder. When he reached the top, he spun around and sat at the edge of the bed, leaving his legs to dangle over the side. "Wizard? What do you think Dawn should do?"

Dawn smiled. "_I suppose a good Pokémon Trainer would always consult their Pokémon when they don't know what to do_..."

Wizard also did as his Trainer did, and sat down at the edge of the bed. Dawn could just barely see his tiny feet. "Pikachu, Pika, Pikachu chu. Pika."

"Really? Because she could possibly get really hurt..."

"Chu," he shook his head. "Pi Pikachu pi, Pikachu."

"Well, Wizard's convinced that you should go," the Trainer announced.

Dawn giggled. "You understood him, huh?"

"Yeah, sorta."

Dawn's eyes augmented. "D-Dusk, I was kidding."

"Obviously, it's like learning Japanese to me, but I'm starting to understand what Wizard says sometimes. He was telling Brendan to lose weight last night."

Wizard giggled. "Chuu, Pika Pika."

"I guess that's two votes for me to go..." She gave a hefty sigh before continuing. "Dusk, it really would help if I knew what you wanted me to do..."

Dusk jumped off of the bed and landed in front of Dawn with a quiet thud. "I don't want to pressure you. If I told you what I wanted you to do, you'd feel like you'd have to do it. Like I told you last night, I want this to be your decision."

"Then how come you asked Wizard?"

Dusk spun around and leaned backwards. He fell against the wall and rested against it. "Because, truthfully, I didn't expect you to believe that I could actually talk to my Pokémon."

Dawn rolled over so she was facing the wall. Getting Dusk out of her sight was another positive effect for her. "_Jun sounded so confident of himself last night...Not that that's any massive surprise. I wonder how many times he's climbed up mountains? If I knew he had some experience under his belt, it'd make this alot easier_..."

Three knocks outside the door lit the room up. Dusk walked over and opened the gateway. On the other side was Brendan, rubbing his eyes viciously.

Dusk was curious why he was doing that, but decided against questioning it. "Good morning, Brendan..."

"Heyyy...Didn't mean to disturb you two or anything, but I just came by to apologize to Wizard," he explained, exhaustion dripping from his voice. "Sorry, buddy, I don't think I'm up for that race today."

Wizard adjusted his headband the best that his tiny paws would let him. "Pika, chu?"

"Brendan, is something wrong?" Dawn finally got out of bed. She stood in place, not wanting to crowd around the already-small entrance. "You sound like you didn't get any sleep at all last night. _I can almost relate._" The latter part, of course, stayed to herself.

Brendan stopped rubbing his eyes. They opened up to the Trainers to reveal a slightly red color in them. He sighed. "Good guess. May almost didn't make it through the night."

Both Sinnoh Trainers' hearts nearly exploded. Neither could say anything right away.

Brendan frowned. "I knew I should have opened that up with a joke."

Dawn stumbled forward. She almost pushed Dusk out of the way just to get closer to the Hoenn Trainer. "Brendan, what happened?!"

"You know that 'woman problem' that we were talking about last night? Yeah. That wasn't it. Turns out, May's arm got infected. She was running some 115 temperature last night. We couldn't even get her to wake up."

"'We'?" Dusk noted.

"Yeah, the nurse came in and helped. Why do you think I was able to put 'almost' in that sentence?" Brendan sighed again. "Way back in Jubilife, after you two tore off into the forest, May and I got talking. We agreed that if anything somehow happened to either of us, the other would continue helping you two take down what came to be known as Team Galactic. I plan to honor that."

"Um," Dawn started, taking a step back. She was terrified of asking her own question. "May's all right, isn't she?"

"She's stable right now, but the odds of her getting the strength up to climb Coronet ain't that high. I know our team's droppin' like flies here, Dusk, but we're still going, aren't we?"

Dusk shuffled his foot on the ground. "Actually, you see...we might be getting a bit more help then you're thinking..."

"Is that so?" Brendan wondered, his gaze turning to Dawn.

"Yeah...A friend and I talked last night, and he agreed to help me climb Mount Coronet from the outside..." Dawn mumbled out, afraid of what Brendan's response would be.

"You know how dangerous that's going to be, right, Dawn?"

She nodded slowly.

"Well, then, I doubt I have to run through that speech. Normally, I'd hate to see you risk something like that, but a final bout with Galactic with just me and Dusk isn't something to look forward to. Hey, Dusk, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask that we set off a little later than you probably had planned. I need a really long, cold shower right now."

Dusk put his hand on Brendan's shoulder. "Take your time."

"Thanks, bro. Anyway, I better get back to May. I'll see ya'll in a bit, all right?" Brendan stepped out of their doorway and entered the room next to it.

Dusk shut the door and whistled. "That's a Team Missile greeting for you."

Dawn's contemplative look turned fatal. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Um..." Dusk blinked, hoping the action would save his skin from being melted by Dawn's glare. "Not a whole lot. It was a joke."

"Umbreon, one of our closest friends almost dies, and the first thing you think to do is joke about it?!"

Nothing moved in the room for a moment. After getting impatient, Dawn took a step back. With a scowl, she turned around and headed for the washroom, shaking her head along the way.

"Wh-what the...? Dawn, I'm sorry! I--"

No words were needed to interrupted Dusk. The bathroom door that Dawn slammed as hard as she physically could did it for her.

"Ughh..." Umbreon's face met with his hand.

He didn't have much time to moan. He heard a small clacking behind him. It didn't take him long after that to realize he was standing in front of the door. With the quickest leap he'd ever made, Dusk just barely managed to get out of the way of the door getting bashed open. His confusion high, Dusk sidled up against the bunkbeds.

A red blur dashed through the room until it reached the washroom's door. "Dawn, please open up!" After getting no response, she turned her head to the side. "Oh, hi, Umbreon."

"G-good morning, May..." Dusk replied. His mind was only now starting to catch up to the situation.

"Pikachu," Wizard chimed in.

May pounded on the bathroom door twice. "Dawn, please. I need to talk to you."

Still no response. The only sound that was made was Brendan, who popped into view of the open door.

He walked up to Dusk and threw an arm around the boy's neck. "Just incase you two weren't aware, the Center didn't spring for soundproof rooms. Also incase you didn't know this, we're right on the other side of this wall. Soo...Yep."

"Don't blame me." Dusk lowered his voice for the remainder of his sentence. "I'm not the one PMSing..."

"Umbry, Umbry, Umbry..." Using minimal strength, Brendan managed to get Dusk to start walking towards the open door. "Let me tell you a few things about the overcomplicated species that scientists define as 'women...'"

A curious Wizard hopped off the top bunk and gave pursuit.

May looked over her shoulder to confirm that the boys had left. She turned around, walked forward four steps, and shut the door. "Dawn, it's just me, I swear. The other two left. Can we please talk?"

Dawn had been sitting in front of the bathroom door to insure that nobody would bother her. However, May's promise was too inviting. Dawn got to her feet, took a deep breath, and timidly pulled the door open.

She found May, sitting by her lonesome on the bottom bunk, hugging the pillow that Dawn had slept on. May found Dawn with neither of the expected anger or tears. The girl's face seemed quite apathetic.

She patted the bed next to her, wanting Dawn to take the seat. "Come sit down. You know we need to talk."

Dawn walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. Instead of sitting down, she was content standing where she was. "May--"

May closed her eyes and shook her head "Dawn, don't get mad at Umbreon."

"Don't get mad at him?! He--" She stopped herself when she looked closely at May, who was actually waiting for her to continue. Water threatened to leak from Dawn's eyes, but she felt strong enough to control it. "...I love you, May."

May didn't stare at Dawn for a moment before setting the pillow back on the bed and springing to her feet. She took the single step necessary to reach Dawn before throwing her arms around the younger girl's back. "I love you, too."

Feeling an embrace, Dawn's tears fought harder. They still lost. She snuggled her head into May's ruby sleeve. Her voice was shaky, but still calm. "Death is really hard for me...I almost lost you, and Dusk immediately made some wisecrack about it."

"I'm sure he'll apologize for it," May comforted, soothingly rubbing Dawn's back. "I'm sure he just didn't know that this was going to be so hard for you. You shouldn't get mad at him for it."

"Something snapped..." Dawn admitted, feeling willing to confess as long as she stayed in May's arms. "I'm not really mad at him."

"Good. I'm really glad to hear that." May pulled her head back, allowing a view of Dawn's head. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

Dawn pulled out of the hug and rubbed her eyes. "I don't think so. Thank you, May. I needed someone to talk to, and there wasn't a chance that it was going to be either of the boys..."

May laughed. "I don't blame you. Which actually reminds me of something..." She reached into a pocket on her shorts and pulled out an orb. "I wanted to give this to you."

Without taking a second glance at the present, Dawn stared at May in disbelief. "May, you've given me everything that I could possibly ask more, andthensome. You actually want me to take more?"

"Of course!" May lifted Dawn's hand up and set the item inside. She let Dawn look at it for a few seconds before covering it with her own hand. She gripped Dawn's hand lightly. "My brother sent it to me just yesterday, when we talked to each other. It's called a Friend Ball. I thought it'd be kinda appropriate," May giggled cutely. Her eyes fell onto her own glove. "But...I really want you to have it. Max told me to give it to whoever I considered my best friend..." A self-conscious smile appeared on her face while her head turned upwards. The unsure grin was aimed at Dawn. "...No one else came to my mind before you did."

"R-really?" Dawn was afraid that a hint of blush showed on her face. She continued, hoping May wouldn't notice it if it was there. "But, I mean, c'mon, Brendan--"

May shook her head. Her hand was still holding Dawn's. "You, Dawn."

The blue-haired girl jumped towards May. Almost before she could react, the Hoenn Trainer had two arms wrapped around her neck. "Thank you so much, May!"

"You're welcome, Dawn. In return, though, could I ask you to do...maybe just one small favor?"

"Sure." Dawn backed away and lifted her hand up. She watched the specialized Pokéball, amazed by its unique color. "What is it?"

"Well..." May's voice drifted away.

---------------------

"I got thinking, Umbry. If you're going to be a Coordinator, you're gonna need to learn how to make Pokéblocks."

"Pokéblocks?"

For the sole reason of letting the women finish up their conversation, Brendan had led Dusk to the lobby. After entering from the side door, the older Trainer moved a few paces to the side and leaned on the wall. Dusk moved ahead farther than him, folded his arms, and watched the early-morning Veilstone in action through a large window. He'd occasionally look at Brendan if the adolescent said something of interest. Joy was behind the counter, secretly eavesdropping on their amusing conversation. The only thing to distract her was Wizard, who decided to strike up conversation with the nurse for some reason.

"It's food for Pokémon. But it's different in the sense that it helps them perform better in Contests."

"Oh..." Dusk expertly hid a smile as he watched a man walk straight into a street lamp. "All right. Makes sense."

"They're easy to make. All you need is a few berries, a Pokéblock machine, about five minutes, and you're set. Most Centers have machines, so you shouldn't need to worry about that."

Umbreon ran his tongue across his lips. "...Uh, berries?"

Brendan's face caved in. "You...You don't know what berries are. This decision to be a Coordinator...Were you somewhat rushed when you made it, by any chance?"

Before Dusk could take offense by that, the boys were interrupted by the side door creaking open. Dawn, who was clearly in a timid and apologetic state, quietly walked into the room. She was gripping onto her holdall's straps tightly. "H-hey..."

"'Sup? You doing all right?" Brendan asked.

The other male turned his sight back to the window.

"Yeah, I'm okay..." In spite of her following sentence, Dawn shut the door behind her. "Brendan, May told me to tell you that she wants to talk to you. She's waiting in your room."

"She could have just said, 'Brendan, get your can in here so the other two can work this out.'" After a shrug to himself, Brendan got off the wall and reached the door. Dawn politely stepped out of the way so Brendan could get to the doorknob.

The quiet click of the door shutting wasn't enough for either of the Sinnoh Trainers. It wasn't until they heard a second door open and shut before they thought to begin conversation. They thought about it for a quarter of a minute, a time period where there was no sound besides the nurse ruffling papers.

"...Feel like talking to me?" Dawn finally began.

"Somewhat," Dusk answered with no other movement.

The girl, having no bandana equipped, ran a smooth hand through her hair once. Trying to keep her accelerating heart under control, she pushed some annoying strands of hair behind her ear before walking forward. She got next to Umbreon and watched the window with him. "Veilstone's pretty busy when it's this early, huh?"

Dusk sighed. He wasn't in the mood for small talk with Dawn at the moment. "I don't mean to rush this, but were you going somewhere with this?"

Dawn looked down. Her eyes caught the pattern on her skirt. She began nervously stroking the material with a hand. "I-I was. Eventually. I'm sorry, Dusk. It sucks that I blew up at you, but..." As Dusk looked at Dawn with a raised eyebrow, no doubt originating from the odd apology, her anxiety only got worse. "...I mean, I've told you what I've been through. Death is really hard for me, and to hear a joke right after being told that May almost died...I just wasn't ready for it, and I guess that was the result."

"Guess so." Dusk lowered his head. He lazily lifted a hand up and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I'll be a bit more careful about what I say from now on." Dusk leaned backwards and whistled toward the counter.

Wizard dropped the fascinating story he was telling Nurse Joy and scampered back to his Trainer's side. "Pikachu?"

"What are you doing?" Dawn asked, confused that the last subject had ended there.

"If we're going to be here for awhile, then I might as well do something productive. I'm going to head to the public computers and see what I can dig up about Mount Coronet." Dusk began walking off in the direction of the side door.

Dawn spun on her heel. "Wait, Dusk?"

He paused, which caused Wizard to ram into his leg. The Pokémon muttered something as it rubbed its nose.

"Do you...forgive me? I mean, are we cool, er...?"

Dusk found a smile on his face, though he was unsure of how it got there. "Of course we are." Without any other words, Dusk resumed towards the door. He opened it up and let his partner walk in before heading into the hallway himself.

"Excuse me, miss?"

It took Dawn a second to realize that it was her that was being addressed. She turned towards the nurse. "Yes?"

"You have a call. I forwarded it to number four," Joy notified, pointing a finger in the direction of a specific video phone.

Dawn took one last glance at the door, a tiny part of her wishing it would open again. "...Okay. Thank you."

------------------------------

Brendan was unable to move or breathe. He was pushed up to the corner of the uncomfortably small room against his will. His face was a near-unhealthy shade of red.

The male Hoenn Trainer was stashed into the corner of the room, being used as a low seat for the female one. May constantly leaned forward and started savage kisses with her boyfriend. When she broke off for air, the intermission lasted no more than three seconds.

After nearly ten uninterrupted minutes of the wild romancing, May rolled off of Brendan and sat next to him. Both were panting, sweating, and incredibly happy at the moment.

"I have no idea what I did..." Brendan forced out inbetween heavy breaths. "But I'ma try to find out and do it again." Taking initiative, Brendan turned to his side and kissed May another time.

"Brendan, you saved my life last night..." May answered after the kiss broke off, her eyes closed in an attempt to recover.

"Oh, right. That." Brendan bent a knee and set his elbow against it. "Any chance we could do this when we get back to Hoenn? You pretend to almost die, then we make out? For real, I mean?"

May rolled her head to the side, allowing herself to give Brendan a raised eyebrow. "Brendan, that's the stupidest--" She cut herself off. After a short pause, she brought her head forward and closed her eyes again. "I don't know. We'll see."

"Good enough for me."

In spite of her hormones still racing at the speed of light, May rubbed her eyes with both gloved hands. "I need to go wash up. Umbreon probably wants to leave soon."

"What? Where? Coronet? You're going?" Brendan rattled out with a strange amount of calmness in his voice, considering what he'd just been doing.

May once again turned her head to Brendan. "...Of course I'm going," she blinked. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Um, I don't know." Brendan got to his shaking feet and offered a hand for May to do the same. "You almost didn't make it to today, maybe? The kid'll understand if you want to lay low for awhile."

"I'm fine," May confirmed, grabbing Brendan's hand. He lifted her up with an expected amount of ease. "I promise."

May started walking for the bathroom, but Brendan held a hand out, stopping her. "Wait!" he cried. "Did I ever tell you about the time I rescued a puppy from a burning building?"

The young woman did nothing for a few moments. After those moments were up, however, she turned back around and crashed into Brendan. Their lips were the first thing to make contact.

----------------------------------

"...Pika Pika, Pikachu?"

Dusk was sitting on a chair in front of a computer. Wizard was slouching in his Trainer's lap, bored out of his active mind.

"I was wondering that myself, buddy. I guess things like that just happen. Like that time back in Eterna, when you got so drunk that you were crying when you finished half the bottle of whiskey."

"Pika Pika, Pikachu pika?!" the mouse screamed.

"Of course you don't remember it, you were drunk!" Dusk answered, doing his best to hide a smile. "But, really...I'm glad May's all right."

Wizard snuggled into his friend's clothing. "Pika..." he agreed.

"And, hey, I'd even go as far as saying that something good came out of it," the boy continued, closing one program on the internet and opening another. "Definitely learned that I got to watch my words around Dawn."

"Chuu?"

Dusk gave a long sigh. He tapped a few buttons on the keyboard before answering. "It's not like I can't be myself. I just need to realize that...Dawn takes things more seriously than I do. That probably came about as a result of me hanging around with Brendan so much."

"Pika pi," the Pokémon agreed again.

-----------------------------------

Dawn was expecting Rowan; she didn't know anybody else, so nobody else should be calling her. She was rather surprised when the video screen popped up, revealing not a lab, but a regular home. Waiting on the other side was a woman holding a kitty, though Dawn couldn't quite put a name to the face.

"Hello?" Dawn asked meekly, unaware of the confused expression on her own face.

"Good morning, Dawn! It's me, Johanne. Umbreon's mother?" she continued with a giggle, unsure of how to further describe herself.

"...Oh!" Dawn gasped, not believing that she had forgotten about her already. "I'm so sorry, ma'am. Good morning. Is anything wrong?"

"Of course not," Johanne countered, her plastered smile staying perfectly in place. "I was just hoping to get a word in with you. Are you busy?"

The girl sighed, hoping to relieve some of her tension. "Not at all," she replied calmly.

"So, how's your adventure going so far? Getting those Pokédexs filled?"

"Pokédexs?" Dawn accidentally echoed. Her eyes fell onto her bag, where she caught sight of the almost-unused machine. "Oh, uh...Yeah. Slowly but surely. There sure are a lot of different Pokémon out here." A tinge of regret reverberated inside of the girl's conscience. She hated lying to an acquaintance that happened to be her best friend's mother, but wasn't sure what else to do.

"And Umbreon? He's doing okay?"

"_Didn't she just talk to him last night?_" Dawn wondered to herself. "Yes, definitely. He's researching things about Mount Coronet right now."

"Sounds fascinating," Johanne blandly replied, rubbing her cat's head in hopes of drawing attention to it.

Dawn nodded. "It is. We've decided that's our next stop. You know, ma'am, I have to tell you that Dusk picked everything up like that," she broached, snapping her fingers. "He learned everything in an instant. Much faster than I did," she added with a laugh.

"Good! I'm glad to hear that. Whatever it takes to make sure you two stay safe out there."

"Mm-hm. So, that's a very cute Skitty you have. My aunt used to have--"

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Johanne giggled like a schoolgirl, rubbing her head against the Pokémon's. "Her name's Cherry. Professor Rowan gave her to me shortly after you and Umbreon left."

Dawn itched her left cheek with her right hand. The cast she threw in front of her face helped to block the frown she was giving. "Oh...Professor Rowan, huh?"

"Yup. Anyway, I--" A few loud knocks could be heard all the way through the video phone. Johanne turned her head in another direction. "Not again..."

"Company?" Dawn wondered.

"No...There's been some criminal activity around here, and--"

"Criminal activity?!" Dawn shouted, jumping out of her seat. "Ma'am, are you all right?"

"Of course. I'm fine!" Johanne happily waved her off. "After all, I have Cherry to protect me. Isn't that right, sweetie?"

"Nyaaa..." the cat moaned.

"Anyway, I should still go take care of them. We'll work out the details of your room next time, okay, Daw--"

The communication was shut off. In fact, everything was shut off. The entire Pokémon Center experienced a black-out.

"Guess that couldn't have happened at a better time..." Dawn thought out loud. She got up from the chair and turned her head over her shoulder. After bashing a door open, her closest friend and his closest Pokémon accompanied her.

"Dawn, are you all right?!" Dusk shouted, unnecessarily paranoid.

Dawn brought a hand to her chest. "Yes, I'm fine...What happened?"

The side door was shoved open a second time. "Wizard, if you wanted to race that badly, you could have just asked!" a slightly intimidating Brendan yelled. "No need to kill the electricity to the place. Now how am I supposed to read?"

"You can read?" Dusk blinked. "Can you write, too?"

May stepped next to Brendan in the doorway. Rather than her clothes, however, a towel was draped around her body. "All right, did you three wait until the shampoo was burning my eyes to shut the water off?!" she asked with unusual anger and a soapy head of hair.

"We tried timing it," Brendan replied casually, unfazed by standing next to his half-naked girlfriend.

"Dawn, can you come with me for a minute?" May started walking back to her room.

Dawn, somewhat startled by the command, followed her.

Brendan began walking forward. "Umbry, where's the nurse?"

"She's..." Dusk turned his head towards the counter. Nothing was over there except for the darkening shadows that the light from the window couldn't uncover. "...not there."

Brendan rubbed his temples and shut his eyes. "This is all too familiar."

"Brendan, go find where the two--"

Dawn stepped back out of the door. Charmy was in her grasp, smiling contently. She didn't appreciate the awkwardness that she walked into, but continued towards the boys anyway.

"What was that about?" Dusk asked.

"Nothing," Dawn dismissed quickly, increasing the curiosity of the other two. "Did you find out what happened?"

"We're guessing it starts with a 'g' and ends with 'igantic idiots,'" Brendan answered.

"...Charmy, it might not be safe right now. Go back into the Pokéball." Dawn lifted her Pokémon's home up and recalled it inside.

"When all else fails...Wizard, can you get anything?" Dusk turned to his own Pokémon.

Wizard climbed up Dusk's pantleg, then vest, and finally his neck to get to the top of his beret. His ears twitched multiple times, listening for even the faintest sound. Finally, he spun around and faced the side doorway. He pointed in the direction. "Pika Pi!"

Seconds later, the door opened. May was on the other side, drying her hair with the towel that had previously been wrapped around her. Her regular outfit was once more clothed over her. She temporarily stopped moving when eight disappointed eyes gazed at her.

"Pika, chu..." he apologized.

"...What?" May blinked.

"Gah, Umbry, we don't have time for this! Dusk, Dawn, you head back down that way! May and I will go behind the counter. If you see anybody that ain't us...I don't know. Scream really loud!" Brendan took a step towards the counter, but was almost immediately cut off.

"No. May, I want you to come with me," Dusk altered. "Dawn, you and Brendan head down that hallway."

"Dusk--" Brendan couldn't get any more than that out.

"May!" Without remorse for interrupting, Dusk ran for the other side of the counter. Wizard needed to hold on to his friend's beret tightly, or risk being bounced off.

May looked at the remaining two in the room, then chased after him. She chose not to say anything, though she had a few thoughts on her mind.

Brendan looked at his new partner. "Dawn?"

"Dusk..." Dawn moaned quietly, watching the hallway he had disappeared down. She finally returned her Hoenn friend's glance. "Brendan?"

"Ugh, whatever. We can't just stand here, Dawn! Let's move!" Brendan yelled, a part of him more excited than even he wished it was. He darted at the hallway that he was entrusted to take.

"_Dusk...Don't you like teaming up with me?_" Though incredibly difficult, Dawn forced the thought out of her mind and ran after Brendan.

-----------------------------------

"Umbreon...Why didn't you want to go with Dawn?"

May had quickly caught up with her friend and had reached the end of the first hallway. Light was a luxury that they didn't have; since the darkness from the black-out hid everything from sight, they were forced to work with memory and good luck.

"Because, honestly, if I had to pick, I'd rather have a six-foot rooster that breathes fire give me a hand than I would a bite-size penguin." Dusk looked up and down both directions that were on either side of him. Both sides had a long hallway that were too dark to see down.

Wizard lowered himself down in front of Umbreon's eyes. The boy received the Pikachu's glare, which was aimed at his Trainer for mocking a Pokémon that was equal in height to himself. "Pika. Pikachu."

"Sorry," Dusk apologized, still deciding which way to go.

May knew they were in a rush, but felt forced to continue. "Is that actually true?"

"...Ugh, no. I have my reasons, but right now is a really bad time for this. May, I don't remember seeing a 'left' way to go in the last Center we were in. Where do we go?"

May winced. "I'm terrible under pressure...Uhm...H-how about left?"

"Works for me." Dusk tore off down their left-hand hallway.

The confused woman groaned. "_I wish everybody would stop overreacting...I'm sure it's nothing. It's just a coincidence that the nurse happened to be out when this black-out happened._" May sighed."_...I can't even fool myself with that_." With another quiet moan of frustration, she finally began racing after Dusk again.

------------------------------------

"You doing all right, Dawn?"

"Yes, just...nervous..."

Brendan and Dawn were dashing down the hallway, bashing in every door they came across. Every single room they did so was empty, minus the bunkbeds that were in each. They reached the end of the hallway, with only one place left to go.

"...The cafeteria," Brendan sighed. "You know? This sucks. No epic fights ever take place in a cafeteria."

"What are you talking about?" Dawn's eyes quietly scanned the kitchen. It was illuminated by nothing but a few small windows, letting light cover only a fraction of the room. "All the epic fights happen here. Have you even seen a Jackie Chan movie before?"

"Of course I have," the older boy proclaimed, pushing his headband up half an inch on his head. "But that guy's a professional. We could never work an umbrella like that, letalone food supplies."

"Yeah, I guess..." Dawn's eyes fell to the floor. "And, realistically, I have to admit that his stunts are probably staged."

"Yup. I--"

A slight sound echoed through the whole building, interrupting Brendan and causing the two to drop their important conversation. For the short time that it had lasted, everybody realized that it sounded like a tin can falling to the floor.

"Stay close," Brendan warned. He picked his nonchalant pace up to a small jog.

"..._D-Dusk_..." Dawn chewed on her lip and followed Brendan closely.

-------------------------------------

"_Wow. These two were made for each other, weren't they?_" May giggled.

Wizard and Dusk both had their eyes closed. Both were listening, trying to get the slightest hint as to where that sound came from. "May...What did you and Dawn do when you took her in the room just a few minutes ago?" the human wondered, having a theory.

"What? Er...nothing..."

"May, I really need to know..."

"...I...just had a little bit of soap left on me, so I asked her if her Piplup would..." May ended her sentence prematurely, much too embarrassed to continue it.

Dusk didn't physically react. "_Then that can't be her_..."

May lifted a hand to her chin. "Can I ask why you needed to--"

Wizard tightened his headband. "Pikachu, Pika Pi Pikachu."

"...My thoughts exactly." Forgoing his usual running, Dusk casually continued strolling up the hallway.

"Umbreon? What...?"

Dusk stopped and tapped his foot on the ground. "It's the basement. The fuse box to this place is in the basement, and there's somebody down there having fun with it."

May gasped. "That's terrible! Who would--Wait, how do you...?"

"Wizard heard it," Dusk answered while he continued walking. "On top of that...I don't know. Ever get the feeling that something just isn't right?"

May also started strolling, slowing down when she caught up to Dusk. "_So those two can understand each other, huh? That's great...It took Ash and his Pikachu so long before they could start communicating with each other like that, and these two get it in a week_," she chuckled. "_Well, that's just another reason why Dawn should accept Umbreon as a really great friend...Oh, no. I hope she isn't thinking that Umbreon betrayed her because he wanted me to go with him_..."

------------------------------

"_His eyes, comforting me...His hands, protecting me...Dusk, why did you leave?_" If it wasn't for knowing that Brendan would make fun of her, Dawn probably would have started crying.

Dawn was following behind Brendan, doing anything but paying attention to where she was going. Her mind was trapped, stuck on thinking of that sound, and how much she wanted to jump into Dusk's arms when she'd heard it. Brendan, aware of Dawn's state, began humming action music loudly in hopes that it would distract her. It didn't seem to help her mood, but the older Trainer found it fun, which caused him to keep it up anyway.

"_I guess what May said wasn't true after all..._" Dawn continued, unable to waver her mind from the topic. "_He doesn't need to be teamed up with me...He'd take anybody that he's stuck with. I'm nothing more than a friend with benefits to him. I can't believe it. I thought we had something so...magical together. Turns out that I'm just some play toy to him. Nothing that can't be forgotten about easily enough. I can't believe I almost said that I love him...If I never see him again, it'd be too_--"

"It's May and Dusk!" While creeping slowly down a hall, Brendan had spotted two silhouetts. It took him a moment to realize who they were, but chased after them once he did. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Dawn was still following him.

She wasn't.

Brendan mentally growled before retracing his steps. He set a hand on Dawn's shoulder. From what he could make out, her eyes were aimed at the floor. "C'mon, girl. You know that boy's smarter than he looks. A lot smarter. He had some reason in splitting us up. Probably character development."

"I know, Brendan, but--"

Rounding a corner, the opposite team spotted their friends in the short distance. "Guys?" Dusk spoke up.

Brendan slowly turned around. "You two didn't find anything, huh?" he asked, hoping to keep Dawn's depression hidden.

"No, but we got an idea where we're going next." Not waiting for the rest of his teammates, Dusk proceeded straight. He disappeared from view as he quickly scaled down some steps.

Brendan noticed his partner's legs still weren't going anywhere. He pushed some strands of her hair from the front of her shoulder to the back. "C'mon, girl. All the cards'll come up just as soon as we get out of this mess." Knowing that backing the team up wouldn't help, Brendan started off after May, who was already on Dusk's tail.

Dawn gave a very long sigh while standing in place. Brendan's promise of answers afterwards was the only thing that drove her to follow after her friends.

"Great...If it's that bright upstairs, we'll probably be blinded by light down in this grungy basement," Brendan complained as he pounded down the stairs. "Yuck."

The entire team finally made it downstairs. Their eyes immediately turned to an obvious light source in the middle of the pitch-black room. All four ran over to it, though their loud footsteps revealed their previously-unknown presence.

A tall man was standing in front of the fusebox, precisely as Dusk had suspected. At his feet was a lamp, only dimly lit, but enough so he could see what he was doing. "Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend..." he mumbled to himself, well aware that there were people behind him.

At the most convenient time, May couldn't stop herself from sneezing. "Sorry...Bless me."

The cute sound that the woman had made caused the man to turn around and look at the team. They were still too far in the dark for him to identify, so he bent down and increased the strength of the lamp. He gasped loudly. "I...I don't believe it! It's you! It's really you!"

"Sorta funny...I figured there'd be mice down here, but not a rat as big as you, Roark," Dusk smirked.

"I don't...!" Brendan began, but left it unfinished. "Dude, you got owned in Oreburgh! Stay dead already!"

"Wait! Wait!" Roark yelped, ignoring both boys. "Hold on, nobody say anything. All right. Well, Dawn, I remember you...Brendan, of course I remember you...Let's see..." He pointed to Dusk. "You were Sewer Boy with your lifelong pal, Rat Fink..." His finger turned to May. "...Oh! And you were the first crybaby! Geez, after what happened back in Celestic Town, I almost completely forgot about the first generation. What's up, guys?"

"Celestic Town?" Brendan turned to his teammates and asked.

Roark set his hands on his hips and sighed contently. "Yep," he answered for the Sinnoh Trainers. "Your friends hold a fantastic conversation, if you don't mind me saying so."

Dusk looked at Dawn. It didn't seem like she was affected in the least that Roark was standing just a few feet away. He was glad at the different outcome. "I was going to ask why you're cutting off the electricity to the entire Pokémon Center, but then I remembered something. We're going to have to fight you, so it doesn't really matter."

"Oh, here we go. Again with the threats?" Roark ran a hand through his uncovered head of hair. "Can't we all just get along? So what, I tried to kill Dawn once or twice. Tell me that none of ya'll haven't wanted to do that, huh? C'mon, guys. You can forgive me, right? I mean, after what Brendan did to his girlfriend back in Eterna, it's hard to believe a little gun-pointing is going off the line."

"Brendan didn't do anything to me back in Eterna!" May snapped. "It was an accident!"

"An accident, huh? Ish...That ain't how I heard it. Anyway, fine, I'll use another example. What about when Dawn almost killed you herself, generic Hoenn woman?"

May couldn't stop a growl from leaving her petit self. "She didn't 'almost' do anything to me, got it?!"

Roark itched his eyebrow. "Sooo...She did kill you, then."

May shook her head in frustration. "No! She didn't do anything to me! Nobody did anything to me! They're all accidents that have been forgiven and forgotten!"

"Then, technically, somebody had to do something to somebody else, or nobody would need to forgive each other. Am I missing something here, folks, or is this girl's tune slightly loony?"

"We've beaten you once, and we'll do it again!" May roared, already reaching for a Pokéball.

Brendan put his hand on her shoulder. "May, relax...Reasoning isn't one of Roark's strong suits, and if you get angry, you'll be doing exactly what he wants you to."

May slowly fell at ease. "...Y-you're right..."

"What are you two talking about? I don't want to get anyone angry! Why would I want to get my best buds in the world angry at me?"

"I'm done talking. Shut up and fight, Roark," Dusk demanded.

Roark scoffed. It turned into chuckling. "C'mon. Be real. Here's this entire situation in a nutshell. You're the hero who makes the demands. I'm the big bad guy that pulls out a gun and points it in said-hero's general vicinity." Roark took out his familiar pistol and pointed it at Dawn. It earned a quick gasp from the unprepared girl, which did nothing but encourage Roark's behavior. "Then you'll be all, like, 'Oh yeah? I'll stop you!' Then I'll be all, like, 'Oh, well, come and make me, little man!' Then you'll be all, like, 'Let's get 'em, guys!' Then I'll be all, like, 'BANG!' And you know what that gives us? A really cliché plot line." Roark altered his voice slightly for each impression he did.

"_So put the gun down and fight honorably for once_..." Dusk didn't dare to say that out loud in fear of how Roark would bend it.

"I still don't think I received that podcast that had you ranting about how great I was on Jubilife TV. We'll go back to that, but skip the blowing-up-the-station thing. I kinda want to do that myself, actually. But cut me some slack here. Since my demands aren't as big, yours can't be either. I'll follow the whole good-guy rule you people lay down and just go with the whole 'leaving quietly' route. That seems to work on gullible idiots, for some reason."

"Oh, I got a new buddy that just can't wait to meet'cha!" Brendan lifted a Pokéball into the air, but Dusk raised his arm up.

"No. You two got the pleasure of it last time. Dawn, would you mind?"

Dawn turned her head to the side, disinterested. She tried to sound like her mind wasn't on the gun that was still being pointed at her. "No. Just take May. You're better coordinated with her than we are."

May gasped. "Dawn! You know that isn't true!"

Roark finally dropped his weapon-armed hand back to his side. He adjusted his glasses with his remaining hand. "Oh, great. And we get to stand around doing nothing even longer. I was hoping we could."

Dawn heard Roark's whining, but paid no attention to it. "Umbreon, if it's all the same to you, I'm just going to head back to Twinleaf once we get the power turned back on. I'm really not needed here anymore, apparently. When you meet Jun, just tell him I got sick or something."

"Can't say I didn't see this coming," Dusk stated out loud, though quietly. "Dawn, do you want me to tell you why I wanted you and Brendan to team up? In front of May, Brendan, and Roark?"

"Oh, do tell," Roark prodded, knowing that he would still be ignored. "If only I had some popcorn right now."

"Yes, Dusk! Tell me! Tell me why I'm not good enough for you!" Dawn folded her arms.

Dusk's face fell behind his beret. He didn't really want her to word her sentence like that. "Because...if we were to have run into Roark before meeting up with the other two, I didn't trust myself to protect you from him again."

Brendan and May looked at each other and stepped back, away from the Sinnoh Trainers. Inside this argument was not where they wanted to be.

Roark sat down on the dusty floor. "Why don't they sell tickets? Why don't they?"

"What do you mean...?" Dawn asked slowly, her voice changing from anger to astonishment.

"Dawn...Roark tried shooting you. When you were unconscious, Roark pulled out that same pistol he has right now and tried shooting you. I might have been able to stop a knife, but a bullet just isn't the same. I knew that...Brendan..." He looked at the person who's name he just said quickly before returning back to Dawn. "...could protect you better than I could."

"Umbreon!"

...That cringe...

"Don't you understand anything?!" Tears threatened Dawn's eyes as she continued her lecture. "When we heard that noise, the only thing I wanted was you, Dusk. You. I wanted those arms around my back, just like they've been so many times. Why didn't you know that I felt that way about you?"

"_Gah, the 'you should have known' line...Welcome to the world of women, Umbry_," Brendan commented.

Wizard sighed. He wondered why things always had to be so dramatic with his human friends.

"Dawn, I-I..." He took a deep breath, which let him recover from his stuttering. "...I didn't know. But I do now. From now on, it's you and me. Give me another chance?"

Brendan rubbed his chin. "_Not bad. Not bad._"

Dawn scowled while she shifted her weight to an awkward level, causing her to fall on her side. Umbreon caught and held her with ease. "Well..." The girl began running her finger in a tiny circle on Dusk's shirt sleeve. "You're a little dense, but we can get you over that," she teased. "So, why n--"

"BOOOO! C'mon! I was expecting a break up! No, first blood, then the break up. That ending was pathetic." Roark got off the ground and dusted himself off. "If I'd given you any money, I'd want it back right now."

"...Dawn," Dusk whispered into her nearby ear. "I think somebody in this room has to prepare for trouble..."

"When they mess with Team Missile, they better make that trouble double..."

The two split apart from each other and got into battle-acceptable positions. Finally being at peace with one another, a smile was on either of their faces.

"To protect the world from idiots causing devastation..." Dawn began.

"To reunite all Pokémon with their original destination..." Dusk continued.

"To denounce the acts of Team Galactic's thugs..."

"To disarm your wrath from behind my gloves..."

"Dawn!"

"Dusk!"

"Team Missile triumphs, in day and out night!"

"Fight us now, or take a hike!"

"PIKACHU, PIKA PI!" Wizard tossed in excitedly.

May and Roark blinked. Predictably, Brendan was close to falling on his knees, weak from laughter. "All right, that one came from the left field..." He wiped a tear from his eye. "You guys gotta tell me where you come up with this stuff."

"Hey, you know something? You two are great a rhyming! Next, we'll work on shapes, okay?" Roark finally rested his deadly weapon inside of the holster that was on his belt. His hand immediately grabbed a Pokéball instead.

"If you're going to teach us shapes, who's going to teach you?" Dawn scratched her chin in curiosity.

Roark smirked. "Yer' mom."

Dawn instantly flared with anger. Instead of verbally expressing it, however, she decided to let her Pokémon do the work for her. Her hand was in her holdall for only a second before reappearing with a Pokéball in her grip. "Let's crack this nut."

Dusk cleared his throat as he extended an arm forward, his hand also containing a Pokéball. "...I thought you were going to say something else."

"Like what?" Dawn cocked her head to the side in curiosity.

Dusk brought his arm back so he could itch his eyebrow. "Um...I thought you were going to say, 'Let's crack his n...' You know what? Nevermind."

Roark put his hands on his hips one more time. "Wow, who knew a bluenette could be so blonde. Even I got that joke."

In the background, Brendan walked over to May, who was shining at the battle. "Brendan, look at those two...They're so confident when they're standing next to each other like that, not even a madman like Roark can take their spirit down."

"Got to admit, that tension between those two when we first got down here was a little off-putting, though..." Brendan kissed May on the neck, missing the intercourse that had happened earlier in the morning.

"Yes, but they got over that, and I know that they're both stronger because of it. Speaking of off-putting though, I think the motto-thing has to go..."

"What are you talking about?" Brendan kissed May on the cheek. "Team Missile has to leave its mark somehow, right?"

"So, a two on one, huh?" Roark whined, interrupting any answer that May was about to give. "This isn't fair in the least. I'm afraid I only have one Pokémon this time."

"And that's our problem?" Dusk asked.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I got the perfect solution." Roark, once again, reached for his pistol. Knowing how amusing it was to him, he quickly pointed it at the Sinnoh heroine.

In the face of danger, Dawn stood stronger than she had last time. She still frowned, unable to enjoy that she was instantly the target that Roark aimed for. Her teeth clamped down on her own tongue a single moment before making a possibly fatal wisecrack.

Dusk took a few steps closer to Dawn, afraid that he knew where this was going. "_Make my day, Gym Leader_."

To Dusk's surprise, however, Roark dropped his arm back to his side. It was followed by nothing but hysterical laughter. "Dang, you guys are too good. Too easy, but too good." He holstered his gun a second time. After recovering from his chuckling, Roark lifted his foot up to the lamp at his feet. "All right, go 'head. This will more than likely be the last time any of you see each other, so just go 'head and get the crap out of your system now. We've waited this long to battle, why not wait even more?"

Dusk smirked while he had one last chance to give an expression that everybody could see. "The only crap getting cleaned out of here is you."

"Oooooh. Ow. That one hurt. No, really." Without any farther warning, Roark smashed his boot into the portable light. In an instant, the lamp shattered, flooding the room with blackness. Nobody could see their hands in front of their faces. "Oh, just one quick thing. I know one of you nuggets has a Fire-type Pokémon, so I just thought I'd warn you...You know that lamp? Yeah...there wasn't a light bulb in it. So before you get to the 'blaze' part of 'guns'a blazin,'' try to think about how we'll kinda all get blown up."

"_Wait, Dusk has to be ready to use Moonite..._" Dawn grumbled to herself. "Dusk! Pull Moonite back! He can't fight--"

"Dawn. I want you to trust me, okay? This battle's won, we just have to rely on each other."

"Haha...Well ain't this funny. Weren't you two just at each other's throats just a minute ago?" Roark verbally pushed. "Dawn, I personally don't get how you put up with this guy. I mean, c'mon. I've done him the favor of his life by shutting the only light in the building off. He wears a beret. A **beret**. You really deserve better. Like a Magcargo or somethin'."

"Roark, if I wanted to date a slug, I would have came to you in the first place..." Dawn smiled brightly. The darkness conveniently covered it for her.

"Oh, you're so cunning...So witty. Brendan, I know you're back there, and I want to thank you. Because of you, I can fight a comedian. Unfortunately, that means that I also have to fight a guy with a little yellow rat dangling from his shoulder..." Roark snapped his fingers. "Hey, I got an idea! How about I just take care of him right now?"

The ex-Gym Leader loaded his gun with another bullet. "Oh, wait...Oh no! I-I don't remember which side he was on! Was it this side! Or this side? Wait, no, that's where the rodent was! Oh, I can't do this! What if I hurt Dawn?! I couldn't get on with my life! Oh, ho ho ho..." Roark began sobbing. He suddenly pulled the trigger of the gun, shooting a bullet into the corner of the room, harmlessly away from everybody. "OH, I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST SHOT MYSELF! OH, I'M DYING! UGH..."

Dawn extended her hand to her side. Dusk did the same. They connected and grabbed a hold of each other. "Dawn, do you trust me?"

"I trust you. You trust me, right?"

"Of course I do."

"...Now I take offense by that," Roark griped. "I'll have you know that I was in drama class for three years, and I played that part perfectly."

"Hey, Roark, how about a game?" Dusk offered.

The man with maroon hair couldn't help but sigh. "No, I'm not playing Shadow."

"Since none of us have revealed our Pokémon yet, put that gun down on the ground. Dawn and I each get to take one guess on what Pokémon you have. If we both guess wrong, you get to pick the gun back up and fire a single round at us. If you miss, we keep going. How's that sound?"

Brendan wasted no time changing positions with May, getting in front of her instead of behind her. "Umbry, you're insane."

The sound of Roark scratching his chin echoed through the empty basement. "...Fun...and productive! See, this is how games today should be played. With guns, and risk. Aw'right, I'm game." Roark removed the gun from its holster and set it down directly beside his feet. "Who's up first?"

"Machamp," Dusk guessed.

"Cranidos!" Dawn added before Roark could respond to Dusk.

"Mm...Nope, sorry. See, I got both those Pokémon taken away when I landed on that annoying 'go directly to jail' space. Ah, well. One round, coming up." Roark picked the gun back up. He heard a small ruffling noise. "Oh? Come now, don't tell me you two are actually trying to hide. Especially since that means I'd have a clear shot at Brendan and the other one back there. Peter Parker would be very sad if you hid while those two took the bullet...Sounds like you bent down. Please. If you're going to run away like a coward, you could atleast try." Roark lowered his weapon's aim and fired it.

A quick thumping sound filled the room.

"Are you kidding me?! I actually got one?!" Roark broke down into laughter.

Dawn felt three rapid squeezes on her hand.

"UMBREON!!" May screamed.

"Don't worry about it, May. He's just playin' around. Right, Dusk?" Dawn's voice began getting nervous. "...Dusk? You okay?" She bit her lip, forgetting that she didn't have to hide her smile. "_Please forgive me, May_..."

Roark stamped his foot on the ground. "Oh, this is too good. This is just too good. This should be a drinking game. All right, Dawn, guess again." Roark set the gun back down in the same spot.

"...U-Umbreon..." If it wasn't for Brendan holding her, May would have dashed off toward the battlefield. She fell on her knees, then on the backs of her legs. She kept talking, but it was so low in volume, even Brendan couldn't make out what it was.

"...How dare you..." Dawn was using her laughter as a means to sound like she was crying. "How dare you think you can hurt Dusk, and just laugh about it?"

The entire building settled, creating an eerie creaking sound. With the small window of opportunity given by it, Wizard got to the ground on all fours. Being careful not to make a single sound, he trailed forward at a snail's pace.

"I can do Bill Cosby impressions, if you want that instead," Roark bargained, oblivious to the creature nearing him.

"Roark..." Dawn gritted out, her teeth locked shut. "I'm going to give you 'til the count of five. One..."

Roark blinked. "Hey, I don't mean to kill the mood here, but what happens when you count to five?"

"Two..."

"A proper threat is usually given after you say that to somebody."

"Three..."

"Not that a threat from you is a whole lot to worry about."

"Four..."

"All right, c'mon. Where's this going?"

Dawn couldn't even finish counting. Out of the darkness right at his own feet, Roark's gun starting firing off by itself, one bullet after another. It wasn't long before the gun clicked; it was out of ammunition.

"What in the bloody--"

"Hey, Wizard? While you're over there, you want to juice the fuse box?" Dawn asked politely.

"Pika!" The Pokémon leapt up on the electrical box and surged a small trace of lightning through it, causing the power to come back online.

Dusk was sitting down, waving to Roark.

"I'm clearly not getting something here," Roark ran his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I think you missed that coupon for five dollars off of a clue." Dusk accepted Dawn's offered hand, helping him get back on his feet. "Didn't it ever hit you that my 'rodent' can see in the dark?"

"Umbreon?" May bounced back to her feet, sidestepped Brendan, and crashed into the leader's back. He was nearly tackled back to the ground by May, in spite of her light frame, as she wrapped her arms around his stomach. "UMBREON!"

Roark grunted.

"What say you now, Darwin?" Dusk asked, a wide smile caused by May on his face.

Wizard happily returned to his Trainer's feet, patiently waiting for May to leave so he could resume his perch on Dusk's shoulder.

Roark's pocket started vibrating. "See? You know something? You people always make fun of me, and look what I do! I put my cell phone on vibrate. I could have left it on the ringtone. I like Bon Jovi as much as anybody." He answered the phone. "Yes, this is the guy who just did your sister last night...Oh, hi, Bossy-boy!...Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Mm-hm. Are you sure? I'm kinda busy right now...Oh, fine, fine. I'll be there in a couple hours." Roark hung up. "I'm so sorry ladies, but we have to end our game. I do promise you something, though...We will finish this. Very soon."

"We didn't do all this for nothing," Dusk barked. He had no intentions of letting Roark leave after all he had done.

"Of course you didn't! You two developed your characters, and I showed just how much of a bad fartknocker I really am. Don't worry, we'll be seeing each other again. Really, though, I got to act like a Hoenn Trainer and run away. See ya!" Roark flipped a switch on the fuse box, darkening the entire room again.

By the time Dusk ran back over and turned it on, Roark was nowhere in sight. "How could he have possibly gotten away?! Brendan, May, did he run past--" He sighed, then looked around the room. "Nevermind...He's probably not worth it." His eyes turned to the floor, where an object was laying directly where the Gym Leader had been standing. "...Roark left his Pokéball here."

"What?" Dawn ran over to it. "I don't think we should touch it. We might accidentally catch stupid germs."

Dusk kicked the button on the Pokéball, causing it to open up. Released from the Pokéball was a colorful parrot, measuring nearly the same height as Wizard.

"Is that...a Chatot?" Dawn blinked.

"That's a Chatot! That's a Chatot!" the bird squawked.

"Safe to say that Roark would have run out of bullets before we guessed this thing..." Dusk mused.

The Hoenn Trainers ran up to them as well. May's eyebrows went up in surprise of the Pokémon, while Brendan's folded down in confusion.

"Chatot's a bullet! Chatot's a bullet!"

"That's...getting somewhat annoying," Dawn said, frustrated by its constant repeating.

"Hey, guys...Could I..."

The group turned to Brendan.

"Would you mind if I took the Chatot?" he wondered. He didn't seem to be joking at all.

"Brendan...? You want Roark's Pokémon?" May blinked, shocked.

"Thing is...It's not Roark's Pokémon anymore. Obviously, he's abandoned it. Really, the thing's fair game."

"Well, I suppose we might as well make this worth it somehow. Go nuts, Brendan." Dusk stepped to the side, followed by both Wizard and Dawn.

"Chatot's nuts! Chatot's nuts!" the Pokémon gawked.

Brendan enlarged a Pokéball and shot it at the Chatot. Since it wasn't owned by a Trainer anymore, the Pokéball captured it.

"Er...Aren't you supposed to weaken it first, or something?" Dawn wondered.

Dusk grew a smirk. His eyes stayed attached to the shaking Pokéball. "You're one to talk."

"Sunnite wanted me to be her Trainer! I--" Dawn cut herself off when she realized her partner wasn't serious. She gave him a shove, causing him to stumble sideways a few steps. "I hate you."

"Since it just got off of Gary the Happy Pirate's train," Brendan worked in, mediating the Sinnoh Trainers. "don't you think it'd take anybody else as a Trainer right about now?"

As predicted, the capturing process completed without a problem. Brendan grabbed his Pokéball that was still on the ground and looked at it. "Today, I just caught an everlasting memory of Roark." He clacked his tongue. "What do you think about that."

Finished with their mission, all four Trainers walked upstairs while Dusk and Dawn explained what they had pulled with Roark. Where the motto had come from was brought up, though they didn't give many details about that. Wizard had jumped ship, landing on top of May's bandana instead of his normal resting place.

When they got upstairs, they passed by a door that was getting banged on from the opposite side. The team looked at each other before returning their gaze to the door.

"I've seen this in Resident Evil once," Brendan mentioned. "I bet there's a Spanish dude in there!"

Dusk lowered and shook his head. "Brendan, later, would you remind me why we still have you around?"

"Will do," Brendan replied cheerfully.

Once again, Dusk shook his head, bewildered. He finally opened the door up from the outside, causing the woman inside to nearly fall over. "...Joy?!" he exclaimed upon recognizing her.

The woman inside the room was a very upset Nurse Joy. "Boy, I need to stop getting kidnapped," Joy scowled indignantly.

"As much as I'd love to talk, we don't have much time. We have to get out of here." Dusk quickly walked away. "Joy, just a small warning," he shouted back. "There may or may not be an oil leak in your basement."

"Dusk, wait up!" Dawn chased after him.

Brendan rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess...we're going. Joy, really, thanks for helping us out last night." He also stepped away from the door.

"May? Are you feeling better?" Joy asked, putting her own situation aside for a moment.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you so much," May said, bowing her gratitude.

"You can go on your travels, but remember to take it easy! Take a break if you start feeling weak."

"I will. Thank you," May bowed once again, then caught up to Brendan.

He had released Chatot back onto his shoulder. "Hey, May, go back and ask the nurse if she can give me an eyepatch. It just doesn't feel right without it."

"What about a wooden leg?" May chuckled. Half of her eyes were blinded by Wizard's paws, who was still on the top of her bandana.

"Give me a wooden leg! Give me a wooden leg!" Chatot screamed.

"Dusk, where are we going?!" Dawn yelped, finding it hard just to keep up with Dusk's pace.

"I'm sick of this, Dawn. No more stalling. We're heading to Coronet, and we aren't stopping until we get there."

Dawn looked at her Pokétch. "But it's already nine 'o clock...We only have about twelve hours until the sun sets. I don't think we could even make it back to Celestic in that time."

"Fine, we sleep." Dusk rubbed his eyes. He slowed his pace so Dawn could keep up with him, though the Hoenn Trainers didn't take advantage of it. "I can't believe that Roark just stalled us out half the morning."

"Dusk, it's okay..." She put a hand on the shoulder that Wizard usually sat on. "We'll get Monkey back. I promise."

Dusk shook his head. "It's not just about Monkey anymore. I'm personally going to take Team Galactic off of the payroll...And I want you to help."

Dawn's blood started rushing faster. She pumped her hands. "Of course!"


	17. An Unattractive Spotlight

"Whoa, Umbry, what's the rush?" Brendan moaned. "Dang, you're like a Whismur on crack!"

The Hoenn Trainers had to move at an awkward speed to stay up with the leader; more than a fast walk, but not quite a jog. Dawn was next to Dusk, nearly needing to break into a run just to keep up with him.

"I want to reach Celestic Town before it gets dark. We have to keep the pace up if we're--"

Dusk stopped talking when he heard May. Her panting was beginning to get loud enough for most of the trees in the forest they were in to hear. Perspiration escaped from her forehead much more quickly than it usually does. It sounded as though she was going to collapse in seconds. Sub-consciously annoyed, Dusk slowed down to the pace he normally traveled at, allowing the entire group to take it easier as well.

"...And Jun runs at that pace on a normal basis?" Dawn sighed, wiping some sweat from her own forehead.

It didn't help matters any that it was yet another scorching 86-degree day. Since they were in a forest, it only made it even muggier.

"...Sorry, May."

"For...what, Umbreon?" the tired girl managed to ask.

"I guess I got a little too pissed off at Roark, and forgot that you were sick."

"Oh, Umbreon..." May inhaled deeply, then let out a violent cough. Her head fell and her eyes shut until she regained the energy she had lost from hacking so badly. "I'm fine...really...I just want to get to...Mount Coronet, and..."

"All right, I wasn't really expecting to do this until our wedding day, but I guess a little practice first wouldn't hurt." Brendan put one of his arms on May's back, and the other on the backside of her knees. He swept her off her feet and started carrying her like a bride in his masculine arms. "Wow, you lost some weight, May. Amazing what skipping a few meals does for you, huh?"

May smiled and put her arm around Brendan's neck so her face could turn toward his shoulder. Her face was hidden from her friends, which was the result she wanted.

"May...How many meals have you skipped?" Dawn wondered, awed.

"You know, they probably have the right to know..." Brendan reasoned with May.

"Dawn, like I said, I'm fine...Just a little tired...I didn't get much sleep last night..." May didn't turn around from her boyfriend's shoulder, so her already hard-to-hear voice was even more muffled.

Nevertheless, Brendan heard it just fine. "May, you didn't answer her question..."

"Because I just ate...Dusk and I passed by the cafeteria when we were searching--"

"We didn't go to the cafeteria," Dusk interrupted. He had a small lead on the rest of the group, but he also heard May perfectly fine.

"No, we did!" Dawn, who was in second place, added. "That's when Brendan and I first heard that sound..."

"_I think I'm being ganged up on_..." May chuckled.

"Here's the thing..." Brendan stopped walking and set May down to her feet.

Dawn and Dusk also stopped and turned around to the Hoenn Trainers.

"May, I don't want to change who you are. Then I'd be changing the girl I fell in love with. But I hate when you do this! The truth is, you're not fine. You're not. Your left arm is skating on thin ice, it's completely infected, and you haven't eaten in thirty hours. May, you almost died last night! ...I don't want to change who you are," Brendan tightened his grip on her shoulders. "...But I do want you to start being honest with me. And Dawn. And Umbreon."

"But Brendan, then I--"

"I know that you hate worrying your friends. And you love helping your friends out. But May, you aren't a robot! You have worries and fears too, and all three of us want to know about them. Pretending that you're fine and dandy when you're not only hurts everybody more in the long run."

Dusk and Dawn looked at each other. They'd never seen Brendan like this. "M-May, that's right!" The female Sinnoh Trainer spoke up. "We really want to know if anything's ever wrong with you, too..."

Causing a startle to everybody's hearts, Chatot jumped out of his Pokéball. He happily perched himself on his new Trainer's shoulder. "You hurt everybody, May! You hurt everybody!" he screamed loudly.

Despite the bird's words, May couldn't stop herself from chuckling. "Thank you. That means alot."

Brendan lifted the Pokéball back up. "I...think you've helped enough for right now..." He recalled his newest teammate, then turned back to May. "I don't want you to keep things bottled up any longer. None of us want you to. Do you understand?"

Unable to show a verbal reaction, the Coordinator nodded her head.

"Good. Now, even though I just told them, I want you to turn around to those two and tell them how long it's been since you've eaten."

May slowly started turning around. "...I...haven't eaten since yesterday--Wh-what?" When May had finally turned around all the way, she saw both Dusk and Dawn offering her food, all of it being stored in plastic, zipper-sealed bags.

"We took some food to go from the Pokémon Center..." Dusk began.

"...And we want you to have it!" Dawn smiled.

"...Wh-what?" the stunned girl repeated. "N-no, I couldn't. I mean, I have my own food, and you two--"

"May. We haven't carried food in our backpacks since the day we decided to travel with Dusk and Dawn," Brendan interrupted.

May looked back and forth between all of her companions. "...I-I'm sorry. Umbreon, Dawn...Brendan. I just...can't. Excuse me..." May walked past the Sinnoh Trainers with her head lowered. She didn't even look at the bags filled with food again.

Brendan's head also dropped. "...Boy, that sure went well, didn't it?"

"I have to chase after her. She's helped me too many times for me to just let her walk away."

Dawn began running away, but Brendan stopped her. "No. I need to do this. Could I possibly take that food?"

"Of course," and "Yeah," were all that was muttered while Dusk and Dawn quickly handed their friend the food that they had in their hands. They could do nothing but watch him tear off after May.

"May's a great friend...but thirty hours without food in her condition? That's just..." Dusk sighed.

Dawn let her head fall onto Dusk's shoulder, just like when they traveled through Eterna Forest together. "What if..."

"What if what?"

"What if May...didn't make it? What would we have done?"

"If she doesn't eat that food, we may get the opportunity to find out..." Dusk really didn't want a thought like that in his mind.

---------------------------

"May, May, May! Wait, wait, wait!" Brendan demanded, running in front of his girlfriend, blocking her from continuing.

Her head was still lowered.

"What was that about?"

May's eyes turned to the side of the road.

"Please? Give me something here!"

The sapphire eyes began getting harder to see as they began getting blocked by thickening water. "Brendan, I'm sorry, I just don't want to talk about it..."

"Well, I do. May, how easy do you think it is for me to see you like this?"

"Probably easier than it is to be like this!" May shot a demonic glare at Brendan. The tears in her own eyes jumped away in fear.

Brendan winced.

"I-I'm sorry...I shouldn't have yelled. Just...Excuse me." May tried escaping again, but Brendan stepped in front of her once more.

"No. May, that's the closest you've come to sharing your feelings since I don't know when...This is coming from a guy, mind you."

"It's just me being selfish. Please, Brendan, Umbreon really wants to get to Celestic Town, so we have to keep--"

"You being...? You know what? Yes, you are being selfish, because you won't tell me what's wrong!"

"Brendan..." May put her right hand on one of his shoulders. She couldn't lift her left hand up far enough to do the same. "I'm on this earth...to help others. I've been lucky enough to be blessed with alot of great friends, and it's them that I'm supposed to help. If I ask them for help, then they're just going to think I'm greedy, and they'll leave me. I don't want that to happen, so I don't let it."

Brendan was awe-struck. He'd never heard this philosophy before. "May...Girl, you're looking at this completely wrong way. Friends won't leave you for asking them for help. What do you think all three of us have been doing to you for the past week?!"

May played with the wrinkles in Brendan's shirt sleeve. "Because, that's like what I said, I'm here to help, and that's that..."

"No, that's not that! May, you deserve to have help when you need it!"

"But I don't want it! Okay? I don't want help. I can't get help. If I did, then..." She paused and rubbed her eyes of the tears inside them. "...I just can't."

Silence passed. Both were waiting for the other to start talking. Finally, Brendan talked.

"Why? Why can't you get help?"

"Because! You saw what just happened, Brendan," May sniffled. "I yelled at you, and you flinched. Eventually, you'll just start hating me, and you'll leave..."

Without saying a word, Brendan set the bags of Dusk and Dawn's food on the ground. He put a hand on May's shoulder, then walked past her, and over to the remaining two Trainers.

May stood, stunned. She didn't move from her spot, nor turn around to see where her closest companion had gone.

A few moments later, another hand was placed on the back of her shoulder. "I was tagged in."

"Umbreon...No. Dawn is mad at me for being around you so much as it is, and I don't want to make it any worse..."

"Dawn isn't mad at anybody, and if she is, it definitely isn't you. May, tell me what's wrong," Dusk said directly.

"No! I don't want to talk to anybody about this. Can't we just go back to talking about how we're going to celebrate after we beat Team Galactic, or how cute Wizard and Torchic are together? Things like that?"

Dusk folded his arms. "Do you remember how you waited with me, in Oreburgh City, while Dawn was getting treated?"

"Umbreon, you've already paid me back for that when we were in Celestic Town..."

"Then has Dawn ever told you about some things we talked to each other about in Eterna Forest?"

May blinked, trying to remember everything Dawn's told her about Dusk. "I...don't think so..."

Dusk turned around. The two stood dramatically back-to-back. "She shared a really close secret with me, and we became closer friends because of it."

"Oh...that's where you're going with it, huh..." May became downtrodden.

"If you'd remember, you also told me a secret in Celestic Town, and I'd say that worked out fine."

"Umbreon, that secret led to you burning your hand..."

"Is that what this is all about?" Dusk quickly fired back.

"What?" May finally turned around to look at him. She was a little disappointed that she found nothing but the back of his head.

The young boy closed his eyes. He also began tapping his foot on the ground rhythmically for an unknown reason. "Is that why you won't tell anybody what's bothering you? Because you're afraid we'll end up getting hurt because of it somehow?"

May smiled as her gaze turned to Dusk's vest. "That's a good guess, but it's not very right..."

Dusk remained motionless for a few more moments. It wasn't long until he sighed, however. As soon as May was about to question the action, Dusk's legs carried him forward. He vanished behind the hill, much like Brendan had done.

Dawn was next, and quickly appeared from the horizon. "I was told that I was needed...?"

"No, Dawn. Sorry, Umbreon must have heard me wrong or something...I just want to continue heading to Celestic Town, okay?"

"...Something tells me Dusk heard everything you said just fine. I don't mean to brag, but you've learned from experience that you can't hide anything from me."

"Well, I'm going to try," May said briskly, turning her back.

Dawn had to recover from the comeback. She'd never expect something like that out of May. "May, you don't have to hide anything...You know that I won't tell either of the boys if you don't want me to. Please, May? Seeing you like this is absolutely killing me inside..."

May choked. "Please don't say that word..."

Dawn scratched the back of her bandana. "_'Inside'_?"

May folded her arms, and as hard as she tried not to, began sobbing. "Why...Why?" she started, her voice hindered greatly while she tried to restrict her crying. "I've always been like this. Why does everybody need to gang up on me at once?"

In answer to the question, the remaining girl put her arms around May's waist, letting her head rest on the back of her left shoulder pad. She began singing in a quiet, soothing voice. "Never know what's 'round the bend..."

May gasped.

"We go up a hill...And then down again. And when there's trouble, we'll get through. We always have...and we always do. Oh...Nothing in the world can bring us down. No, not us. Spread a little sunshine all around...there's never enough..."

Though there was much more to the song, Dawn felt like her friend needed the hug, not her words. The girl snuggled her cheek into May's back. "We aren't 'ganging up' on you, May...We all care about you, and just want you to be happy."

Tears finally fell down May's face properly. A steady flow evacuated from her eyes, falling onto the grass below. "But I am--"

"We...don't really think you are," Dawn continued, her voice still as soft as an angel. "We all think that you're forcing that happiness. That's never good, May. You should only show the emotion that's in your heart..."

Moments passed. May couldn't say anything. After that corny speech, Dawn didn't dare to. They only stayed in the same position for awhile longer.

"...U-Umbreon was right...Y-you do have a good singing voice..." May finally choked out.

"Thank you..." Dawn replied meekly.

"Dawn...I know that...I'm just going to...sound like a bother...but could I...ask a favor?"

"May, never think that. Of course you c--"

May spun around and tied her arms exceedingly tightly around her friend. Her eyes rested directly on top of Dawn's shoulder as they began pouring tear droplets out even faster than they had been.

The receiving end was stunned. If she had gotten to finish her sentence, it wouldn't have been so bad. She forced herself to recover from it and put her hands on May's back. She started patting it. "Just cry, May. We'll stand here all day if we have to." Though it could have been taken as sarcastic, Dawn's words were very sincere, and May knew they were.

Much time passed. With her eyes closed and her arm around May's back, Dawn couldn't check her watch to look at the time. She was sure that it only felt like hours that had passed.

May had run out of tears. Though her voice was still extremely shaky, she began explaining. "Dawn...I don't want to die..."

At the words, Dawn gripped May's back tighter. "You're not going to die, May! Last night is in the past, and it's never going to happen again!"

"I...want to see my brother again..."

"You're going to! You're going to see him just as soon as we all finish getting our revenge on Team Galactic for everything they've done to all of us!"

"I don't want you to be mad at me..." A few more tears found their way onto Dawn's vest.

"I'll make sure I--Wait, what?" While in the middle of her proclamation, Dawn finally registered what her friend had said. "May, I could never be mad at you! Never!"

"I want to see Mom and Dad again..."

"They'll be waiting for you at home!" Dawn promised. "You're going to see them again really soon!"

"...I don't want to die, Dawn..." May dug her nails into Dawn's vest as even more tears ran from her eyes.

"...I won't let you, May..." Dawn nearly began crying as well. Through all of the times that she had witnessed crying, including her own, she'd never seen so many tears from one person. Still, she managed to stay strong.

Another silent set minutes disappeared. May slowly picked her head off from Dawn's shoulder, allowing the air to finally dry all the tears that had fallen on it.

"May, are you--"

Before Dawn could go any further, May slapped herself clear across the face. She was so weak from crying, the smack made her fall to the ground. Curled into a ball, her back to Dawn, May began sobbing again.

Dawn slid on both knees to reach her. "May!! What did you do that for?!"

"I'm such an idiot...I deserve to die, right now..."

"Team Missile doesn't even joke about that, all right?!" Dawn began rubbing May's arm. "Nobody deserves to die, May...Never..."

"I'm so selfish, Dawn...Why should I fear death? I'm not important to anyone...Nobody would miss me..."

Dawn's fists clenched. "...Get out."

"...Wh-what?"

"Get out. Whoever you are. Get out of May's body!" Dawn slammed her cast into May's shoulder, causing her to yelp in pain. "May...my best friend...would never say anything like that. She was always important to everyone, and not a single person who met her wouldn't miss her if she was gone!"

"Dawn, I'm not possessed," May managed to get in, her eyes blinking from shock.

Dawn's head fell. Her bangs hung low, blocking her eyes from anybody's view. "May was a woman who watched out for her friends without a single question, and would give up her life in a second if it let her friend take one more breath. She never yelled...She gave me a gift from her brother, whom she hasn't seen in two years, just so I would feel better! If the May that I remember doesn't get back here right now, I'm going to have to ask you and Brendan to leave."

"What am I supposed to do?! What?! Please tell me!"

"...Tell me."

"Tell you wha--"

"Tell me why the girl that's helped me to express my feelings to someone I really like should die. Tell me why the girl that helped my Pokémon to evolve should die. Tell me why the girl who's helped me realize how important I am to this team should die in front of me right now." Her voice was raised as she continued.

May couldn't give an answer to them.

"Tell me why my best friend should die today," Dawn finished, her tone harsh.

"...Because I cried to you, all right?!" May sat up and faced Dawn.

Dawn wasn't expecting an answer. She was hoping that she wasn't going to get one.

"I wasted my best friend's time by forcing her to stand there while I cried on her shoulder. The same time that could have been spent searching for Team Galactic."

"...And you think that's something you deserve to die for?"

"Yes, I do," she answered plainly.

"Then where does that put me, huh?!" Dawn exploded, genuine rage now surging through her. "How many times have I cried to you? How many times have I cried to Dusk? For heaven's sakes, how many times have I cried to Brendan?! If the punishment for crying to a friend was death, I think I'd be dead atleast ten times by now."

"You don't understand...Dawn, I know that it's my purpose to help anybody in need...I help. I don't get help. If I'm busy getting help, there's somebody out there that I'm not helping! When I'm alone, that's when I cry...When there's nobody around to worry about me..."

"So..." Dawn slowly rose to her feet. She dusted her legs off, then clapped her hands free of the grass and dirt that stuck to them. "What you're saying is that you're too good to need a shoulder to cry on."

May got on her knees, but didn't manage any more than that. "No! That's not what I'm saying at all!"

"Well, it's either that, or you're saying that you're not good enough to get a shoulder to cry on, and there's no way that my best friend is 'not good enough'!"

One could hear a needle drop to the ground in the silence that proceeded that statement. Not even the wind was daring enough to create a sound. Brendan poked his head over the hill, but quickly retreated once he noticed the intense standoff that the girls were having. Dawn still stood, her leer locked onto May. May kept on her knees, unable to lift her confused head up to look back at her friend.

"Dawn. Thank you. For everything," she finally whispered.

"Good." Dawn finally eased some of her tension. Her arm extended in a proposal for May to grab her hand. "Now, can you promise me that you'll always rely on Brendan to cry on when you get back to Hoenn?"

"...I'm sorry, Dawn. I can't do that." May got off the ground and dusted her clothes off, coldly ignoring Dawn's help.

Dawn angrily brought her arm back to her side. "What?"

May continued wiping her clothes free of dirt. Her eyes knowingly stayed away from Dawn's. "I can't promise you that, because I can't do it. I don't waste other people's time listening to my problems. It just isn't worth it for anybody."

"...That's actually what you think, huh?"

"Yes, I do..." May put an arm on Dawn's shoulder. The girl took a glance at it before shifting her frustrated expression back towards May. "Dawn, whatever problems I have, there's always somebody out there that has it ten times worse. Like when you felt useless to the team."

"I know one thing about that is true. You clearly don't feel useless to the team. You feel useless as a person."

May kicked at the dirt. "No, I don't..."

"If you don't think your problems are important enough to tell your friends...That your arm is numb, or that you haven't eaten in over a day...May, that means you think you're worthless."

"I do not want to talk about this," she replied with unusual stern.

"Dangit, woman!" Dawn pounded her foot on the ground. To May's surprise, a pair of tears fell out of her eyes simultaneously. "How long have we spent talking about this? Now we're going to finish it. Would you finally admit it? They say that admitting your problem is the first step to recovery..."

May shot Dawn's demonic glare back at her. "Roark got to me, all right?!"

Unlike Brendan, Dawn managed to stand quite strong in the aim of May's lethal look. "What do you mean? Roark?"

May calmed down, if not slightly. "Roark keeps calling me a crybaby, and you know something? He's right...I do nothing but whine all the time..."

"I could go on for hours how Roark could say that two plus two equals four, and he'd still be wrong, but I'm not even going to bother. Tell me something else. Why, exactly, did Roark start calling you a crybaby in the first place?" Dawn folded her arms. She wanted to go back and tag somebody else in, but she seemed to be the only one that May would open up to.

"Because...I cried, when we were in that mine..."

"And what were you crying for?"

"...Brendan..." May slowly answered, not really wanting to.

"And you hate yourself for that?!" Dawn snapped. "May, that's called 'worrying about a friend.' You had every single right to cry over something like that. Dusk admitted to me that he cried when I fell unconscious before we entered Oreburgh, and if you haven't noticed, he's not one to cry at the drop of a hat."

-------------------------------

"...ACHOO!" Dusk sneezed.

"You all right?" Brendan, who was leaning on a tree, asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine..."

"You know, they say that you sneeze if somebody's talking about you."

"Nah..." Dusk rubbed his nose. "Probably just allergies, or something."

---------------------------------

"But Dawn, that isn't the point!" May retorted.

"Well, I want to know what the point is, then."

"You want the point? Here it is. I didn't forget..."

"You didn't forget what?"

"Anything!" May yelled grouchily. "I haven't forgotten anything...How Brendan's Sceptile hurt my arm...How Umbreon wouldn't even listen to me back in Celestic Town..." She growled quietly at first, but neared a roar before stopping herself. "...And how you almost killed me!"

Dawn's shock pushed her back a couple steps. "...M-May..."

"And you know something? I..." May's anger turned to depression almost instantly. "...I absolutely hate myself for all of it..."

"What?" Dawn blinked, utterly confused by May's mood swing.

"I can't stand being angry at anybody, especially when they're such close friends! Dawn, I harbor hatred for you that I just can't get rid of, no matter how hard I try..."

"May, you have the right to be angry at me." The Sinnoh Trainer twisted her ankle on the grass timidly. "I did almost kill you."

"I have the right to, but I don't want to! Dawn, it's honoring to know that you think of me as a best friend, and I just can't stand returning that with bad blood..."

For once all conversation, Dawn had to think about how she was to continue it. "...So why won't you eat?"

"What...? Dawn, how could I eat when I secretly hate all of my friends?!"

"May, don't punish yourself because of that! I don't mean to pass the buck, but you not eating for an entire day might have had something to do with what happened last night. The only reason that you are mad at all of us is because you won't talk about it!! We really want to know if something's ever wrong, May, and we'll help you through it. Now, go back," Dawn ordered, lifting her hand up to point down the road. "Go back to Brendan. And Dusk. Tell them what you just told me. Tell them that you have a problem with both of them, and you'll be able to work it out."

"But Dawn, what about...you?"

Dawn smiled the best she could for being under the circumstances. "I almost killed you, May...I think it's going to take a little bit longer to forgive me than it is those two."

"...But I will, Dawn. I know that I will." May hugged her friend one last time. "I know that it seems like we've been saying this quite a bit lately, but it seems appropriate..." May closed her eyes. "Dawn, I love you."

Dawn smiled. Her brain, however, wouldn't allow her lips to part. While she was nervous about creating awkward tension, she couldn't work herself up to return the statement.

Relieving Dawn, May pulled back from a hug with a smile on her own face. "I'll go talk to the other two real quick, okay? We really should get going soon." The older woman sidestepped the younger one and continued down the road peacefully.

Alone, Dawn hit the ground hard, then rested her back on the grass, watching the sky the best she could through all the thick trees.

Moments later, Dusk came running in with Wizard at his feet. "Dawn! What happened?" he shouted, worried that she was on the ground.

"Pika pi!" his partner added.

Dawn waited for the two to get next to her to answer. "Oh, Dusk, tell me again how you do that every single time I start to get whiny..."

Dusk sat on the ground next to the girl and smiled at the same sky she was looking at. Wizard hopped into his lap, increasing the grin's strength. "I've been curious of that myself."

"Where is May?"

"She wanted to talk to Brendan first. I can't wait 'til it's my turn. I'm so excited," Dusk said sarcastically.

Dawn laughed. "Well, I won't spoil it for you..."

There was a repeat of the silence. Dusk yelled at a Hoothoot that cried its own name, which forced Dawn to laugh again. It wasn't until things calmed down that she decided to start conversation again.

"Hey, Dusk? Be honest...Do you think it was my fault that May almost died?"

"Well, it's hard to say...I wasn't there when you hit her, and I was sleeping when it almost happened."

Dawn giggled. "You're not bad at avoiding questions, Umbreon..."

"I practice. I haven't cleaned my room in over a month."

Dawn altered her position, allowing her head to rest on top of Dusk's lap. Wizard didn't appreciate getting booted out of his spot, but tried to put it out of his mind while he hopped back down on the ground. "I'm sorry that we had to take such a long break, Dusk..." the girl said with a yawn.

"This day's gotten screwed up so many times so far, I can't even say that it matters any more. Still, if you convinced May to start eating again, it's worth it." Dusk started running his glove through Dawn's hair.

Dawn rolled her head to the side, sandwiched her hand between her head and Umbreon's lap, and closed her eyes. "_Hopefully that's not the only thing I convinced her to start doing_..." she thought to herself once obtaining maximum comfort from her position.

"Hey, Dawn, I...This might sound a little weird, but Brendan and I argued over something...Did my name happen to come up when you were talking to May?"

------------------------------------

"May, it's all right! It's all right!"

May's head was resting on Brendan's shoulders as tears fell from her eyes, much like what had happened with Dawn. Brendan's arms were tied tightly around her back, giving her needed moral support.

"Brendan...I don't want to be mad at you..." May sobbed.

"I understand...It's all right, though, May. We'll get through this. But why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"I'm sorry, Brendan...I...Just...It's nothing. I'm going to try to not lie so much anymore, okay?"

"I'd like that...And in return, I'll try to stick with attacking the Pokémon rather than the Trainer, all right?"

May smiled as she finally received the strength to put her own arms around Brendan's back. "I love you, Br..."

"...What?"

"...ACHOO!" May sneezed, turning her head from Brendan's jacket.

"Gasundheit..."

May lifted her head up and kissed Brendan on the cheek, then settled back down into his neck. "I was saying how much I loved you..."

"It takes quite a person to love and hate somebody at the same time...You're like a Bond girl, or something."

The female Coordinator wanted to laugh, but began hacking before she could. The coughing quickly became violent. She eventually broke away from Brendan to avoid getting any germs on him. She fell to her knees, then to her side, still not able to stop wheezing.

"May!" Brendan quickly ran over to her side. "Are you all right?! Dumb question..."

May finally managed to stop coughing, but it felt like her heart was soon going to rip in two. Her lungs forced her to continue panting heavily. As her stomach churned, she was forced to curl up. "Brendan...help..."

"GAH!" Brendan didn't have a clue what to do. They were too far away from the Pokémon Center. Dusk and Dawn weren't around.

Staying somewhat calm during the otherwise intense situation, Brendan released one of his Pokémon. "Metagross, I really need your help, buddy! Use Psychic to grab those bags of food that're down the road and get them back to here!"

"Meta!" the newly-released Pokémon replied. "Meta, Metagross..." Metagross began glowing a deep shade of blue. Within seconds, two bags of food were being sent straight at the Trainers. "Meta," it smiled contently once it had finished.

"Thanks alot, buddy! Just another one I owe you." Though addressed, Brendan didn't look at his Pokémon. His eyes were never taken off of May. "Here, May, maybe some food will help..." He scurried through the bag to find the lightest food inside. "Crackers? Crackers will do. You love crackers. You're like a cracker-addict." Brendan tried bringing the light snack to May's mouth, but she wouldn't open it. "May, please tell me you're just being stubborn again..."

May began perspiring through her forehead. Instead of panting, she was taking long, deep breaths, far apart from each other. Finally, her already much-weakened eyes closed.

"May? May?! MAAAYYY!!" Brendan gripped May's cold hand. Noting its temperature wasn't a good confidence boost for Brendan. "May, if you didn't like Sinnoh, we could have just left!" The remaining conscious Hoenn Trainer rubbed his eyes of the small tears that were forming. "You didn't have to--"

"...Biiii..."

"What?! Who'zat?" Brendan jumped to his feet and looked around. A cross expression came to his face when he saw nobody.

"B...Br...Brendan?"

Brendan's eyes quickly turned to the girl on the ground. "May!"

She rubbed her head. It was throbbing, though she didn't feel like asking why. "What...happened?"

"I don't think you want to know." He bent down on a knee to get closer to her. "Everything all right?"

"The last thing I remember is...ugh!" May's head pounded even more.

"Don't talk. Here...If you can, just sit up and eat some food first. We can talk about this after that." Brendan handed her one of the bags.

May nodded, even though it also hurt to do that. She slowly sat up and began nibbling on a piece of dry lettuce.

Brendan let out a massive sigh of relief as he sat on the grass next to her. "_I don't know who these Sinnoh people pray to, but thanks, all the same_."

-------------------------------------

Another hour passed. Dawn, Dusk, and Wizard were having fun talking with one another, never moving from the spot they had been in. Brendan was laying on the grass with his hands behind his head, enjoying the wind that blew through his bangs. May was sealing up the bag which she had been taking food from.

When she had finished, she crawled on top of Brendan and kissed him on the lips. The gesture was short-lived, however, as May quickly backed off with a blush. She muttered an apology, which Brendan didn't even hear, before she settled back down into his jacket. Her eyes closed as she gave off a small sigh.

"That was pretty quick..."

"I'm sorry, Brendan...My mind's...just on something else right now."

"Well, you just went through something pretty nuts, so that's understandable. I just hope you're feeling better by tonight, because I'd really like for you to continue showing your gratitude for me..."

"...What?"

Brendan blinked, feeling as though he'd just gotten brushed off by his own girlfriend. "What do you mean, 'what'? This morning, when we were in the Center...You know..."

"...Oh! That's right. Sorry, I just forgot..." May frowned, but didn't let Brendan see it.

"Anyway, if you're up for it, we should probably keep going. Metagross can carry you. Isn't that right, buddy?" Brendan turned his eyes to the Steel- and Psychic-type Pokémon that was never returned into its portable home.

It didn't reply. It focusing on intense meditation.

"Yeah, you know how those Steel-types need to concentrate."

May laughed. "Well, if we shouldn't disturb Metagross, you could always carry me instead..."

"Sure, but you have to take my backpack."

May giggled. "No, thanks...I'll take my chances with Metagross."

Brendan softly put his hands under May's head and began lifting it, allowing himself to sit up. May sat up as well, but didn't dare to get to her feet. Her head would just begin throbbing again.

"Hey, Metagross...Could you do me one more favor, buddy?" Brendan spoke softly. He was afraid of what would happen if he yelled at the concentrating Pokémon. "I need you to carry May for awhile, all right?"

"Meta," it replied blankly, wishing it hadn't been interrupted. It hovered over to May and waited for her to climb on top of its main body.

May blushed as Brendan picked her off of the ground and set her on top of Metagross. "Thank you, Brendan..."

"No speeding," Brendan warned. He picked up the mostly-filled bags of food on the ground as all three started heading towards Dawn and Dusk.

"May! Brendan!" Dawn yelled upon spotting the two nearing them.

"About time..." Dusk sat up from his previous laying position.

"May, are you feeling any better?" Dawn asked once the other two had gotten to them.

"I think so..." she replied softly, a bit of a blank expression on her face.

"May's just a little shook up right now. She'll be fine. Right now, we really need to start making our way to Coronet," Brendan continued.

The battalion once more continued on their expedition. Dusk, Brendan, and Dawn all had a very slight lead on Metagross and May. Though it was already 11:30, they figured they could get a bit of traveling done before they all broke for lunch.

"Hey, Dusk, I'm really sorry," Brendan apologized. "I know you wanted to get to Coronet as soon as possible and everything."

May blinked. "..._Dusk?_"

"It's fine. Between hearing that May almost didn't make the night, and then having the pleasure of seeing Roark again, I figure that the day's already shot. We'll just make it as far as we can, and start from there tomorrow morning."

Dawn turned around and started walking backwards. "Hey, May! Do you think those flower petals will still be in Celestic? I should put a few more on Sunnite's necklace!"

May didn't speak. She just looked at Dawn curiously.

Dawn smiled wryly, wondering what the silence was for. "Uhm...May? Hello?"

"...What?!" May finally came to her senses. "Oh, um...I...don't know..."

Wizard sensed that May was confused. He hopped off of Dusk's shoulder and started running towards Metagross. Metagross smiled as he let the smaller Pokémon run up its leg and into May's lap. Wizard snuggled up to her shirt and began cooing softly.

May was slightly stunned. Rather than petting the Electric-type like she always did when he was close, she just watched him rub his head into her stomach.

Dusk noticed what was happening. He didn't think much of it at first, but got worried when nothing changed after a few moments passed. "May? It's all right. He's been fine around you this long, I don't think he plans on hurting you much."

"Pika, Pikachu," Wizard agreed.

"Oh...O-okay, then...H-hi there...Pikachu..." May slowly set her hand on top of Wizard's head.

Dusk quickly shot a raised eyebrow at Brendan. Wizard was only called by his species' name back in Oreburgh, when the team was only beginning to get used to his nickname.

Brendan received Dusk's look and decided to investigate. "May? I'm gettin' the inkling there's something going on here..."

"What? No, of course not! I love this Pikachu..." May looked at it a bit more sincerely than she had been. "It's so adorable."

"I think he likes it better when he's called by his nickname, May..." Dusk added, aware that May was still acting unusual.

May froze. "...N-Nick...name?"

Brendan stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn his head back. His stopping caused the rest of the team to do so as well. "May, you love that Pikachu's nickname..." he said, specifically stopping himself from revealing the name.

"May?" Dawn wondered, looking at her curiously.

"It's...uhm..." Had it not been for the gloves, May would have bit her fingernails. "It's...Sparky, right...?"

Dusk and Dawn shook their heads, observing May even more leerily now.

May's head fell. "I'm sorry, Brendan, and you two. The truth is, the last thing I remember...is Brendan...beating me in that Contest."


	18. Disaster on Route 210

"...Wh-Wha...?" Dawn couldn't help but smile. "Is this some stupid joke you two idiots came up with? We waited an hour for you to figure this one out?"

"What Contest?" Brendan asked his female counterpart, ignoring the other girl. "You don't mean the second time we ever met each other..."

Brendan replying like that forced Dawn to quickly drop the grin. "Brendan? You two...This isn't a joke, is it?"

"...I ain't laughin', I know that."

Dawn frowned. "_...Str-Straight faces? Yeah...probably..._"

"I'm...sorry, Brendan..." Tears fell from her eyes and landed on Wizard's head as she began stroking the Pokémon gently on his sensitive ears.

Dusk looked down the path. Though it was completely impossible, he was hoping that they were on Mount Coronet by now, because at the rate this day was going, they weren't going to get there any other way.

May suddenly started laughing. "I also remember that time when you slammed your knee into a desk at the Rustboro Academy, and swore in front of all the young children..."

Dawn smirked lightly. If this really was happening, atleast May was trying to make the most out of it.

Brendan walked up to Metagross and started petting May's arm, which was dangling in front of the Iron Leg Pokémon. "May...That happened three years ago."

The girl's expression turned back to depression. "I...I know, Brendan...I'm sorry..."

Brendan also hopped up on Metagross. The poor creature felt more like a loveseat than a Pokémon at this point. "Do you remember who you are? Or where you are?"

May contemplated his question. Finally, she smiled. "I'm May Birch...That person who promised to beat all the Contests in Hoenn in eighty days with you..."

Dawn leaned over to Dusk and whispered. "Is May...living in the past?"

His only response was a hardly energetic shake of his head, his eyes being covered by the hand that was rubbing them.

"It's great that you remember that, May, but that also happened a long time ago...You don't remember anything that just happened? Roark? Galactic? Me flipping into the ocean on the flight over here? None of it?"

Never taking her eyes off of Wizard, May shook her head. "I...I'm sorry, Brendan..."

"It's alright, May." Brendan hugged the confused girl. "We're all going to do everything we can to get your memory back, okay?"

"Thank you, but it's really okay...You don't have to go through any trouble..."

"You lost the last four years of your memory...If you wouldn't mind, I'd like my girlfriend to be caught up with the news a little."

"..._Girlfriend?_"

"Alright! Anyway, you remember the team, right? Metagross here, Sceptile, your Pokémon..."

"Brendan? Why...do I only have three Pokéballs?" May looked at him curiously after realizing the loss of half of her team.

"You gave them to your dad when we came to Sinnoh."

"Sinnoh?" she quickly responded.

Brendan bit his lip, but stopped before anybody realized it. He covered it up with a smirk, just incase. "We, uh...We really have a lot of work to do, don't we?"

In an unspoken mutual agreement among the other three Trainers, Brendan took the time to explain nearly everything to her. Her wound, Team Galactic...Chatot. Finally, he jumped down and grabbed May's hand, giving it a slight tug. She followed him down from Metagross as they walked over to Dusk and Dawn.

Wizard perched himself on top of May's bandana. "Pika pi!"

May giggled. "_It's kinda cute, isn't it...?_"

"This is our quarterback, Dusk," Brendan introduced, putting his hand on Dusk's shoulder. The other was still gripping May's hand.

"H-Hi...Dusk." May held her hand out.

Dusk shook the offered hand. "Hey, May..." Nobody could deny that it was strange introducing yourself to somebody you've known for the past nine days or so.

"And that's his catch, Dawn."

"HEY!" Dawn screamed. "Would you get off the 'catch' thing? It's anno--"

"...D-Dawn...?" May interrupted, bringing a nervous fist to her chest.

"Yeah?" She was used to responding to her name like that.

"That name...sounds..." Her head fell. "I-I'm sorry...I'm such an idiot..."

"No, May! You're definitely not an idiot! You're..." Dawn kicked at the dirt after realizing that she'd trapped herself. The boys didn't yet know what her friendship with May truly extended to, but she was already too far into her sentence to back out now. "...my best friend..."

Dusk and Brendan shared a glance, but said nothing. That both comforted and worried Dawn.

May also looked at the ground. "I...can't say that returning a comment like that is easy for me...I mean, maybe if I had an idea who anybody was...I-I'm sorry everybody, but could I...maybe just be alone for awhile?"

"...S-Sure! We'll just...stay right here. Maybe taking a walk in the woods will help clear your mi--er, bad choice of words. Uhm..."

May giggled. "It's alright, Brendan...It was nice meeting all of you...probably...again..." She sighed before slowly stepping off deeper into the woods by her lonesome.

"Brendan..." Dawn watched her friend slowly disappear into the brush. "May's...never wanted to be alone before..."

Brendan sighed. "Hey, Dawn, Umbry...Here. I want you to take Sceptile." He reached for a Pokéball and handed it to Dusk.

"...Wh-What?" Dusk replied, stunned at the gift.

"I...know it's going against what I told you earlier, but you two really need to get to Mount Coronet. We've wasted enough time on this today as it is, and I can't stand holding you up anymore, and I know that if May was herself, she'd feel the same. Now don't get me wrong. I am expecting him back. If it's alright with you, though, I want to keep Metagross with me...Maybe it'll help May remember some things somehow, I don't know..."

Dusk looked at Dawn. As he watched her fist shake with her head lowered, a sudden flashback occurred to him, about when Rowan had handed them the Pokédexs. She was in that same exact position.

"Umbreon...If you're going to Mount Coronet now...you're going without me."

"What?!" Dusk quickly snapped.

Dawn's head shot up. Her eyes were filled with tender anger, if there was such a thing. "My best friend just lost her memory, and you want me to just run away from her?! Do you honestly think I could keep something like that on my conscience? I don't care if we find the leader of Galactic up there and I get to personally shove him off the cliff. I'm sorry, Umbreon, it's just not worth leaving May."

Dusk looked at Sceptile's Pokéball, then offered it back to Brendan. "I think the runningback made her decision."

He slowly accepted his Pokémon back. "Are you really sure you don't mind? It might take me the rest of the day to convince May where we're going..."

Dusk looked at Dawn one last time. The same expression stayed on her face. He turned back to Brendan. "Then we should probably get comfortable, shouldn't we?"

Brendan smiled as he uncharacteristically hugged both of them. "Thanks. It really does mean alot."

"...Brendan, you smell like a car," Dusk noted.

He quickly backed off. "Sorry. Metagross had a bad incident with an eighteen-wheeler once, and the smell's never really worn off."

Dawn turned to the mentioned Pokémon. "Did it hurt...?"

"What? No, Metagross didn't get hurt. I can't say the same for that eighteen-wheeler, though."

Dusk and Dawn laughed. Metagross seemed pleased as well.

---------------------

May was leaning against a large oak tree, her hands behind her back, looking up into the sky. A few whispy clouds flew overhead, but she hardly paid attention to them. She wasn't crying. She was too confused for tears. "_I don't believe this...That was so embarrassing, and had to be awkward for the other two...I feel so empty inside...And why did Brendan call me his girlfriend? I always had a small crush on him, but I mean...I thought I was taking a longshot when I kissed him like I did...Has four years...really gone by?_"

Her thoughts were interrupted when two cheerful eyes lowered themselves in front of her face. "Pika, chu."

"Oh, I'm sorry...I must have forgotten about you...You should go try to find your Trainer, OK?"

Wizard shook his head. "Chu."

May gasped. "...I'm...not your Trainer, am I...?"

Once more, he shook his head. "Chu."

"Then why are you with me?"

"Pika...!" Wizard growled cutely, then started licking May's forehead.

May chuckled at the ticklish tongue. She grabbed Wizard off of her head and held him in front of her waist, facing him in the same direction she was looking. "So I guess we're friends, huh?"

"Pika!" he agreed with vigor.

"So you have a nickname? I don't think I ever heard it, so can I just call you Pikachu?"

"Pika," he once again agreed, though with a bit less pep.

"Pikachu...Do Brendan and I travel around with you and those other two back there?"

"Pika!"

"Do you know why that girl called me her best friend?"

Wizard closed his eyes. "Pikachu. Pika Pikachu, pika pi, ka."

May smiled. "Alright, maybe we'll just stick with 'yes' or 'no' questions...Are we in Hoenn?"

"Chu."

"Are all four of us doing something? Like an adventure, or something?"

"Pika! Pi Pika chu!"

"Do I...slow the team down any?"

Wizard turned his head back to May. His ears sagged low when he saw tears coming from May's eyes. "Pika, chu..." he replied in a very low volume.

"...Right now it feels like I am..." May brought Wizard closer to her neck and hugged him. Whether she knew him or not, she needed somebody to help her feel better. "_Why...Why can't I remember anything? I get called a girlfriend, and I just stand there...I get called a best friend, and I just stand there...How long have I been traveling with Brendan? Wasn't it just...a couple weeks ago? No...four years has passed since then, I just...don't remember any of it. It's not...so...bad_..." May choked as the grip on Wizard tightened.

-------------------------

20:14. That was the time it was when May finally reached back to the same road she had left everybody else at. She was going to walk right in, but a bunch of strange Pokémon surrounded the campfire that was burning...A penguin, a lion, and an...echidna thing. She hid behind a tree and decided to listen for awhile instead.

"...Brendan? Are you alright? You've been looking at that thing for the past twenty minutes..." Dawn walked up behind him, taking a seat directly beside him.

Brendan was holding half of a ribbon in his hand. "Ah, Dawn...I remember the day we got this thing...When May and I tied in the finals of the thirty-seventh Hoenn competition, she used Eevee, one of her Pokémon, to cut it in half, so we could each take one..."

"Thirty-seventh? I thought the one coming up was the thirty-sixth..."

"Oh..." Upon realizing his mistake, Brendan laughed. "I'm sorry, kid...It's been such a long day..."

It suddenly hit Dawn that this day was probably as hard, if not harder for Brendan then it was for May. "...Would it make you feel any better if I gave you this?" Dawn dug through her bag until she found the green-colored Pokéball inside.

"What's this...?" Brendan wondered, observing the strange gift.

"I dunno. May gave it to me this morning. She said it was a Friendship Ball, or something..." Dawn also watched the object move around in her broken friend's hands. "...It's really pretty, but I want you to have it. You probably want everything that was special to May that you can get, huh?"

Brendan smirked, then handed the ball back to Dawn. "Thank you, Dawn, but I can't accept it."

"Don't be modest, Brendan!"

"No, I really can't accept it. If May ever remembers giving that to you, and finds out I took it back, she'd probably kill me."

Dawn laughed as she accepted the gift back. It was impossible to argue with logic like that.

"Besides...From my best guess, I'd say that this hit you pretty hard too."

"Yeah, especially since it's my fault..." Dawn laid backwards. "Man, when I slug somebody, I make sure to nail them, don't I?"

"Dawn, I really don't want you to blame yourself for this. It's nobody's fault. I guess things like this just...happen."

May took this as her que and, very slowly, stepped out from behind the tree, cautiously making her way over to Brendan. Wizard, however, was too excited to see everybody again, and jumped out of her arms, scrambling over to the campfire where Dusk was roasting a stick. "Pika, Pika pi! Pikachu?"

"Hey, buddy, what's up? Want to hold twigs up to a fire and wish that there was a marshmallow at the end of it?" Dusk offered his Pokémon a medium-sized gift of bark.

"Pika!" Wizard readily accepted it and aimed it into the fire, just like his Trainer and all the rest of Dawn's and Dusk's Pokémon, spare Sunnite, were doing. The Luxio had decided to lay down near the fire for a small nap.

"May! I'm glad you're safe. Do you feel any better?" Brendan looked at the girl standing a few feet away, but didn't get up.

"You...waited here? For me?"

"Of course we did!" Dawn sprung up and smiled. "That's what friends do, you know."

May bit her lip.

"I...should...probably just leave you two alone huh?.." Dawn, a bit saddened, stepped away from Brendan and walked over to Sunnite. She knelt down and began petting her.

Brendan stood up and walked towards May. "I kinda--"

In response to him walking closer, May backed away a few steps.

Brendan froze. "...May? What's wrong?"

"Brendan...I am...your girlfriend?" she asked nervously.

Those words weren't how Brendan wanted to top the night off. He knew it wasn't May's fault, but it still stung his soul. "...Y-Yes, May. You are, and you have been for as long back as I can remember..."

"...N-No," May took another step back. "There was Roxanne...and...and...When we met Whitney from Johto..."

"May, May!" Brendan ran up and hugged her before she could step back any further. She didn't return the gesture. "May, that's all in the past...You're the one that I want now."

"Brendan, but I-I wanted you, but you didn't return my feelings..."

Brendan's physical movements temporarily stopped as all his power went to thinking. He had never heard her admit that before. He finally came back to his own senses. "I don't care what happened back then, May. My eyes are set on you right now, and they aren't turning."

May blushed. "You're...actually...my boyfriend?"

"May, I know you're incredibly confused right now, and I want to help you through it...I'll start by telling you that the past is the past. You have to let it go."

"But how am I supposed to do that if I don't know what the present is?"

"We're all going to help you." Brendan kept his right hand on May's back, and spun the rest of his body to her side to get a better view of the camp. "Everybody you see here is going to help you."

May smiled wryly. "Brendan...I...don't mean to change the subject, but...You...really...wouldn't mind if I said that I love you?"

Brendan chuckled mysteriously. "Right now, I'd really like that..." He kissed May on the lips, but didn't take it very deep. Though he definitely wished to, as it would help him forget some of the events that day, he knew that May probably wasn't ready for too much romance yet. Considering she just found out that Brendan was her boyfriend three minutes ago and everything. "Now, c'mon...Let's go join the others and try to relax, alright?"

May nodded slowly and began stepping quietly towards the Trainers and Pokémon. She sat down on a fallen log next to Brendan. Feeling untrusting of anybody and anything besides her partner, she stayed close to Brendan's side.

"Here, May!" Dawn turned away from the fire, holding an object in her hands. "I made this for you!"

"What...is it?"

Dawn cringed slightly. "Well...It's supposed to be a hamburger, but I think I might have kept the meat in the fire a little too long...Don't worry, I put a little lettuce on top to negate some of the burnt parts!"

Dusk sighed. "You're not supposed to literally burn the meat in an open fire..."

"Well it was just going to spoil soon anyway!" Dawn snapped back. "It was your brilliant idea we took meat from the Center anyway..." Dawn closed an eye, setting the other one's gaze on Dusk.

"I was kinda thinking we'd feed it to the Pokémon...?"

"So you want to give our Pokémon spoiled meat?!"

"Moonite could have defrosted it before it spoiled."

"And how's that different from being on an open fire?! I swear, Dusk, you make me wonder--"

The argument ended when Brendan finally failed to stop himself from laughing. "Sorry, it's just...You two were made for each other."

Dawn and Dusk both blushed. For once, Brendan said something about them and...it wasn't a wisecrack. Much of one, anyway.

May broke them out of it. "Thank you, but I...don't feel like I could accept..." Her eyes turned to the ground. "The truth is, I...don't remember your names..."

"What? Oh, that's OK! If that's your only reason," Dawn stuck her tongue out happily. "I'm Dawn, and he's Dusk. I'm happy, like the sunrise, and he's emo, like the sunset!"

"I'm sorry, Dawn," Dusk spoke up from the background. "I think the fire just crackled. Did you say something about me?"

Still holding the fried food in front of her, Dawn turned her head back. "C'mon, you're wearing mostly black. You had that coming eventually..."

Brendan held his index finger up. "And we can't forget the lack of a personality."

"I'm roasting sticks on a fire! What else I need to do for you people?!"

"Pika, Pikachu!" Wizard shouted in the defense of his Trainer.

"Hm?" Dawn turned her head back when she felt two hands touch hers gently. The feeling disappeared, along with the sandwich that was in her hand.

"Thank you..."

"No problem! If you want anymore lettuce, just let me know. Dusk and I kinda guessed that you like vegetables, so we stocked up on them as much as we could." Dawn turned back around and laid down on her stomach, watching and petting a grateful Sunnite.

May stared at her hamburger. "They're...nice, Brendan." She tried to say that as low as she could so nobody else could hear it, but Dawn did.

She smiled, but didn't react to it otherwise.

"I know they are." Brendan kissed May in the hair. He didn't really care if either of the other two heard his comment or not.

"_Dawn...and Dusk_..." May giggled. "_They must be brother and sister_." She began eating the sandwich, seemingly not caring that it was extra crispy.

----------------------

22:30 appeared on their watches. The fire was smoldering, the Pokémon were back inside their Pokéballs, and Dawn and Dusk were laying on the grass, observing the stars. May and Brendan sat on the same log that they had been.

Dawn laughed. "This is just like when we were in Eterna Forest, Dusk..."

"Except May and Brendan are here, we're not sleeping on a blanket, and I didn't make a crucial decision that affected my mother without talking to her first?"

"...Yeah, but you've yelled at the Hoothoot to shut up three times so far. You did that back in Eterna Forest."

"Crucial decision?" Brendan wondered.

Dawn turned her head to look at the Hoenn Trainer. "When we get done with this, I'm going to move into Dusk's house."

"Wow, you're a lucky mother, Dusk. May asked her folks if I could move in with her once. Yeah, that didn't end well."

May rested her head on Brendan's shoulder. She felt like she'd never had the opportunity to do that before. Though, as far as she was concerned, she hadn't. A small yawn escaped from her mouth.

"You know something? I think you have the right idea. I don't know about you two, but May and I should really be getting to bed. After what happened last night, we could both stand to turn in a little early."

"Alright," Dusk confirmed.

"Good night!" Dawn said cheerfully.

Brendan stood up and got behind May and began opening her backpack. "Alright, May, where do you want to sleep? On the grass, or on the grass? There's a few nice rocks over there, if that's your thing." He pulled out her sleeping bag.

May yawned a second time in response.

"Rocks it is, then."

"Brendan!" May yelled for the first time since this morning.

Brendan chuckled as he set her bag up just a few feet behind from where they currently were. He let his backpack fall to the ground. He pulled out another sleeping bag and began assembling it next to hers.

"Dawn, and...Dusk? I...want to apologize..."

The Sinnoh Trainers missed that shine that May always had in her eye. She had lost it after the events of today.

"I know that...this is probably really awkward for both of you, and if we really have known each other for awhile, then it's just as embarrassing for me, too..."

Dawn crawled on all fours over to May and hugged her. "May, we've been really great friends for over a week now. There's nothing to be embarrassed about! Tomorrow, I'll tell you all about how we met up with you and Brendan, okay?"

"I'd like that...Thank you, D--" May's face turned red.

Dawn smiled as she pulled away from the hug. "I'm Dawn. The boy's Dusk."

"I'm sorry...I'm such an idiot..."

"No, don't say that, May!" Dawn hugged her one more time, then again, drew her head back so she could look at May. "You'll feel better after you get some sleep."

"I hope so..."

Wizard knew this was his chance. He dashed over to Brendan, who was already laying in his sleeping bag. When he sensed that Brendan eyed him, he tightened his headband and pointed one of his tiny fingers at him. "Pika, Pikachu! Pi Pikachu, Pika pi!"

"And you, my friend, are on! Tomorrow, from here to Celestic! No backpacks! Main trail only! Final Destination!"

"Pikachu!" Wizard pumped his arms. Spotting an empty sleeping bag beside the Trainer, he hopped over Brendan's legs and made himself comfortable.

Brendan turned around to face Wizard. "Yeah, you ain't stupid, are you? Why sleep with your Trainers when you got a comfy sleeping bag, huh?"

"Pika," he nodded.

"You're not supposed to agree with him, Wizard," Dusk yelled, hearing the conversation.

Wizard stuck his tongue out at his Trainer. "Ka."

May stood up and observed the situation behind her. She noticed Wizard was sleeping in her bag, but didn't react to it.

"Hey, Dusk? Can we go for a walk?" Dawn asked.

"Now? Um...Sure." Dusk got off the ground and dusted his clothes off.

Dawn also stood up and started walking down the path to Veilstone again. She figured that if they went the other way, they'd see all the scenery now, and the trip tomorrow would be even more monotonous than what it was already going to be. Dusk followed her.

May was still standing, looking blankly at both sleeping bags.

"May? What's wrong?"

"I...can't sleep in the bag. If the Pikachu wants to sleep in there, I'll just lay beside him..."

Wizard quickly jumped out of the sleeping bag and moved back a few paces, so he was just above where May's head would be. He took his headband off and unraveled it, showing its true form of the bandana. He laid it on the grass, then sat on it himself. "Pika Pi!" He threw his paw up in the air victoriously.

"No, it's really okay, Pikachu! I want you to sleep in there, okay?"

"Pika...chu?" He cocked his head slightly.

"May, he's a Pokémon. He's a bit more versatile about where he sleeps than we are. Take the bag!" Brendan coached.

"...Well, okay...But I want you to use this tonight, alright?" May untied her own bandana while she walked over to her sleeping quarters. She bent down and handed the cloth to Wizard. "You can put it on the ground to make it more comfortable, or use it as a blanket, okay?"

"Pika!" Wizard nodded. He took the gift and laid down, throwing it over the top of his body to cover up.

May laid down on the sleeping bag.

"May...Before we go to sleep, I really want you to know that what I said earlier stands, until your memory comes back. Dawn, Dusk, and I will be here for you, and we want you to ask any questions that you have. Actually, I take that back, it stands even after your memory comes back."

"...Th-Thank you, Brendan..." she replied nervously.

"Alright. Now get some sleep. We're probably going to start on our way again tomorrow, so we really need some rest." Brendan hid under his covers further.

"_On our way...Where...are we going? I wonder?_" May also delved deeper into the material.

------------------------------

"Dawn, are you alright?"

Dawn's shoulders had been sagging ever since they got out of the Hoenn Trainer's eyesight.

"No, I'm not...I'm still crushed about what happened, you know?"

"It's going to be tough for all of us, but we'll muggle through somehow. If we can make it through you almost dying twice, something non-fatal like this shouldn't be so bad, should it?"

"Me? You're the one jumping out in front of knives," Dawn smirked.

"Hey, if you're going to play that card, then make that three times. We can't forget who the knife was aimed for, you know."

The girl laughed. "Yeah, I know...Thanks again for that, Dusk..."

"Once is plenty. Don't worry about it."

"Dusk...answer my question this time. Should I blame myself for everything that's happened to May today?"

"No," Dusk quickly responded.

"Answer honestly!"

"Then...No."

"Du-usk!!" Dawn begged.

"If you weren't going to accept 'no' as an answer, why'd you ask?"

She sighed. "Because I know it's my fault anyway..."

Dusk grabbed Dawn's hand. It was at this point that he made a note to start walking on Dawn's left side from now on. That way, he can grab her uncasted hand with his unburnt hand, rather than the other way around. "Dawn...it isn't your fault. If you did anything to hurt May, it was giving her that meat back there."

"But I'm the one that slammed May's arm..."

"And Brendan's the one that hurt her in the first place. Is there really a need to point fingers?" Dusk swung his arm slightly, causing their attached hands to cradle in the air between them. "You did hurt May. There's no denying that. But you didn't cause her to get that infection. You didn't cause her to nearly die. And you definitely didn't cause her to lose her memory, however that even happened."

"So I guess I'm only a quarter of suck, huh?"

"...Well, probably about thirty percent. I still take offense by that emo thing."

Dawn rested her head on Dusk's shoulder. He quickly yelped in pain, causing her to jerk her head back up. "Umbreon, what's wrong?"

"Dawn, that's where I cut myself, remember?"

A slightly embarrassed smile came to Dawn's face. She rested her head back on his shoulder. "If you weren't holding onto my hand, I'd slap you in the back of the head right now, Umbry..."

"Ain't Brendan calling me that bad enough?"

"'Ain't'?" Dawn blinked. She'd never heard him use that word before.

"...Crap."

They silently agreed to turn around and head back to camp to get some sleep themselves.

"Hey, Dawn?"

"Mm?" she replied, sounding half asleep.

"What happened to May got me thinking of when we actually did first meet up with those two..."

"And?"

Dusk smiled. "You don't remember the reason you agreed to let them go with us, do you?"

"Uhm...Not...really."

"Dawn...You had a crush on Brendan."

"WHAT?!"

A few resting Starly flew away from the surrounding trees because of the sudden shout.

With her head laying on his shoulder, Dusk's ear took a massive attack as well. "I've always been curious what you think of him now that we got a chance to know him a little better..."

"Umbreon, I could never date Brendan behind your back..."

"Behind my back? Of course you couldn't, because I'd have died from shock by then."

Dawn cleared her throat and smiled. "That's too bad, Umbreon..." she began seductively. "Because you should die from shock if I ever see anybody else without telling you like that..."

"Well, sure. Then I'd be out of your way."

She giggled, and snuggled her head up closer to Dusk's neck. "You know what I mean..."

The two continued, mostly in silence.

"..._DAWN! C'mon, you freakin' idiot! We're alone. It's dark. I'm two inches from his face. WHY can't I get those three words to leave my mouth?!_"Dawn sighed and tried to forget about it, telling herself that another opportunity would come up. Somewhere.

"...Hey, Dawn? I also wanted to thank you for...being so patient. With May." Dusk added. He seemed to have a hard time wording that sentence.

"What? Of course, but...where'd that come from? If anything, I'd expect that from Brendan..."

"I know. It's just--"

"Umbreon, were you going to go to Mount Coronet?" Dawn's eyes looked at his face the best they could from the angle she was at.

He didn't answer immediately. "...I can't deny that it crossed my mind, especially when Brendan gave me his Pokémon."

"Stop."

"What?"

"Stop walking."

Umbreon obeyed, if not curiously.

Dawn changed her position until she could comfortably hug her friend, which she quickly did once it was available. She rested the side of her head on Dusk's collarbone and began rubbing her forehead on his neck, giggling slightly.

"You like this, don't you?" Dusk asked, smiling.

"I love...being this close to you, Umbreon..."

Dusk's hands gripped her back harder. "Yeah? And why's that?"

"Because then I know that I'll always have those gloves on my back..." Dawn decided to just hug Dusk for now. She still left her head near his neck, though, just in case. "And that Team Galactic will never hurt me...And that I'll be able to spend awhile with...somebody at their home..."

"Somebody, huh?"

"Yes, but he needs a title..." Dawn smiled. "How about 'best friend'?"

"But May's already got that one..."

"I know, but I can have more than one, you know...How about BeretGuy79?"

"Did you go to NSider too?"

Dawn laughed. "I have an idea...How about I call him my boyfriend?"

"...I kinda like the ring of that. So are you going to tell me how I suddenly got that title?"

"Oh...It happens." Dawn giggled. "Umbreon, you did it again..."

"Did what?"

"You didn't go to Mount Coronet because I didn't go...Just like when we were in the shopping mall..."

"Do you honestly think I could do this without any backup?"

"Jun will probably be waiting for you..."

"He's an acquaintance at best. I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him for any longer then that."

Dawn mutely chuckled as she turned her head in the other direction, facing away from Dusk. She could feel her hair tickle his chin a bit. "That's certainly not what Jun thinks of you..."

"I'm not sure if I want to know what he thinks of me."

"He thinks of you like a brother, I know that..." Dawn smiled, curious what his reaction would be.

"...If he thinks of you as a sister, I'm going to personally kill him."

"Haha, no, I don't really think so...Dusk?" She started circling her finger on his sleeve. "If I lose my memory four years from now...Do you think I'd remember this night?"

"If you lose your memory four years from now, and don't remember anything about this night...I'll be sure to tell you all about it, okay?"

Dawn grinned. "Even if I don't lose my memory...maybe we should talk about this night anyway."

"Maybe we should." Dusk removed one of his arms from her back and continued walking towards the camp.

Dawn followed him, making sure that his arm didn't leave her back.

They reached their sleeping grounds without saying a word. Dawn smiled when she saw Wizard surrounded in bandanas and decided to untie her own. She tip toed over to him and gently placed it on top of his small body. He reacted by moving slightly, but didn't even appear conscious. Dawn laughed to herself as she walked back to where Dusk had laid. She laid down on his side, letting her head rest on his stomach area. "Do you mind if I sleep like this?" she asked in a whisper.

"Only if I get to do this..." Dusk lifted his hand up and started running his fingers through Dawn's midnight blue hair.

Dawn smiled. It's not like that bothered her or anything. In fact, she liked it when he did that. She rolled to her side so she was facing Dusk and closed her eyes. "Good night, Dusk."

"Good night, Dawn..."

Forty-five minutes passed. Knowing that everybody was back and sleeping contently, May silently sat up for a second, then stood up. She picked Wizard up, being careful not to wake him, and gave him a light kiss on the forehead. "_Thank you...for helping me today. Please rest well_." She laid him down on the sleeping bag. She turned around and noticed Dawn's head was sleeping peacefully on top of Dusk. She looked at the scene for a moment. "_They...must really be close_." Finally, May quietly stepped across the grass and into the forest.

Somewhere.

------------------------

The sun, as it's known to do, rose up. Dawn, being blinded by the heavenly body, blinked until she finally managed to open her eyes. She got up from her human pillow and rubbed her eyes. Having an object that was on him all night suddenly move also woke Dusk up. Both of them noticed that neither Brendan nor May were there. Wizard, however, was laying ever-so comfortably in May's sleeping bag. Neither Trainer could tell if he was sleeping or not, though.

"I guess they went for a walk, or something..." Dawn noted, yawning.

"As long as they get back soon, I don't really care..."

Dawn reached into the bag of food and pulled out some lettuce for herself and began nibbling on it. "Ugh...I'm sorry, but I'm not sure how May can eat this all the time..."

"Not a vegetable person, huh?" Dusk laughed.

"What's the difference between eating this and pulling out some grass and eating that?!"

"Well, one probably doesn't have dew on it..."

"Which one?"

"Not sure," Dusk quickly responded.

They both laughed. Dawn threw the lettuce on the ground and laid back down into Dusk's lap. "Dusk, what's today?"

"Uhm...Tuesday, I think. Why?"

Dawn giggled. "Thursday's coming up pretty soon, you know..."

"...No! And I mean 'no' this time!" Dusk defended.

"Oh, c'mon..." Dawn lifted her hand up and began stroking Dusk's short hair. "Just admit that we had a lot of fun last time...I think we should be able to hit Eterna City by sometime tomorrow...Then we'll rest there for the day, then go claim Mount Coronet in the name of Mars, and then go back to the Center! Please?"

"...I hate when you beg..."

Dawn chuckled. "I know, that's why I do it..."

A small, quiet sob could be heard a few feet away. Both Trainers sat up and listened for it again. Eventually, they determined where it was coming from. After a quick glance at each other, they walked over to May's sleeping bag.

Dawn bent down and started petting the crying Pokémon. "Wizard...what's wrong?"

"Pika..." he sniffled. "Pikachu, pika pika..."

"Is it because Brendan left? I'm sure he'll race you sometime, Wizard..."

Though they were kind, Wizard shook his head to Dawn's words. "Pika, Pika pi, Pi Pikachu..."

"I think I see where this is going..." Dusk set his hand in between Wizard's ears. "You miss Torchic, huh?"

"What?" Dawn didn't know how he possibly came to that conclusion.

Wizard, however, did. He curled up into a ball as two more tears escaped. "Pikachu..."

"Don't you worry, buddy. The minute May gets back here, we'll tell her to let Torchic out. How's that sound?"

Wizard jumped out of bed and hugged Dusk's pantleg. "Pika, chu, Pi!"

"Of course. Now here. If you're going to intimidate Brendan, you need the headband on, capeesh?"

"Pika," he nodded.

"Alright," Dusk took the green bandana and started folding it up again.

Dawn grabbed her own headwear and started tying it around her head as well. "_There he goes again...He can understand Wizard like he's human...Dusk knew exactly what was wrong, and how to make him feel better...Is he finally going to confess that he can talk to animals?_"Dawn laughed.

"Now Wizard, I'm not sure if you know this or not, but when Dawn and I start entering Contests, I'm going to be relying on you. When we finish with Team Galactic, we're going to work on how to get that Volt Tackle even more flashy, alright?"

"Pika!" he nodded with energy.

"Perfect." Dusk finished tying the custom headband around his friend's head. "So, now that you've had the chance to deal with us for awhile, who do you prefer? Us, or your last Trainer?"

Wizard rubbed the back of his head. "Pikachu, Pika pi, Pika..."

Dawn gritted her teeth. "Was that answer supposed to be that long?"

"He said that he's torn. His last Trainer hurt him physically, but he's losing his sanity staying with us."

Dawn lifted Wizard up and held him high in the air. He beamed down at her. "Don't worry, you'll be completely insane by the end of the week, and then we'll have to put you in a padded room!"

His head craned to the side. "Pika?"

"That, or you could just be my Pokémon instead...I promise that I don't were berets."

"You're the one that gave him to me in the first place!" Dusk snapped back, not really angry at the remark.

"Yes, but I never thought he'd be this cute, either. You must make good Pokéblocks when I'm not--"

Dawn was interrupted when Wizard wiggled out of her hands and dashed over to a tree. He looked behind it, then back at the Trainers. "Pika Pi!"

"What is it, Wizard?" Dusk yelled back.

Wizard started pulling on something, but it eventually came walking out by itself.

"...May?" Dawn blinked.

"I-I'm sorry...I wanted to wait until Brendan got back..." May, who had apparently been hiding behind this tree the entire time, replied shyly.

"Whoa, wait, what? Brendan's not with you?" Dusk stood up, sort of obligating Dawn to do the same.

May shook her head. "I'm sorry, I...don't know where he went..."

"What were you doing behind a tree?" Dawn couldn't help but wonder.

"I'm sorry! It's just...I...It's...nothing. I'm sorry..."

Dusk leaned over to his girlfriend. "She's apologized four times in three sentences..."

"May? Come over here and sit down..."

"No! I mean...I...I'm sorry. You two are just busy, and...I...don't want to interrupt. I'll just head back into the forest for awhile."

Dawn bit her lip. "_She's so confused...So many things have to be running through her head right now_..."

"No, May, don't!" Dusk begged. "We really would like it if you stayed here. We could get to know each other a little better."

Dawn looked at Dusk. She never really expected him to say something like that to her, especially if he really was going to leave for Coronet yesterday.

"Huh? No, I don't want to get in your way...I should probably just be left alone right now..."

Dusk slowly walked over to May. Fearing him, she took a couple steps back, but Dusk put his arm on her shoulder. "No friend of ours should just be left alone."

"That's right, May!" Dawn added. "I know that...Brendan...is probably the only one you remember of us, but we really want to be your friends again, too! We should get to know each other better."

May stood still for a moment, then shook her head nervously. "No...No. I'm just...causing unnecessary strife, and I don't want that..." She smiled, hard as it was. "I keep thinking that everything's how it was four years ago, but apparently, it's not..."

"No, it's not, but we want to help you remember what is going on," Dusk comforted.

"...N-No..." May took another step back. "You two...don't know me...You shouldn't be...this nice to me..."

"No, May, we do know you. We're your friends, and we'd do anything to help you in a heartbeat, just because we know that you'd do the same," Dawn covered.

"...No...No! What if you're from Team Rocket?!" Tears formed in May's eyes. "You're just tricking me!"

Dusk stopped himself before he began laughing. He was going to explain about Team Missile, but knew that'd only confuse her more right now. Dawn, however, didn't find anything humorous in her sentence. Two water droplets ran down her face. "Please, May...We're not from Team Rocket...We're your friends, and we want to help you..."

"But...Brendan..."

"Brendan isn't here right now..." Dawn rubbed her eyes. "That's why we want you to trust us...We can prove how close we used to be to each other, May..."

"...No...No...BRENDAN! HELP ME!!" May screamed at the top of her lungs.

"May, calm down! Calm down!" Dusk tried to comfort May.

Dawn fell to her knees. Her eyes shut tightly, hoping to block out any tears that fell, though the plan didn't work. Extreme sadness fell from her face with every single teardrop. May not trusting her shattered her soul. Even if it wasn't really May's fault.

Brendan, having clearly heard the cry, started dashing into sight. He skidded in between the middle of the scene. "Alright, what's going on here?" He looked around to see nothing very suspicious...

"Brendan, help me!" May quickly ran behind his back and put her arms around his waist. She was shivering uncontrollably.

"May, what's wrong?"

"She thinks..." Dusk rubbed the back of his head. "...we're from Team Rocket, and we're trying to trick her."

"May, it's okay! Calm down...May, they aren't from Team Rocket, Team Galactic, or any other gimmick relating to outer space. Sorta. I promise you that they're really good friends of ours, and they want to help you as much as I do."

"But Brendan, they weren't there that day..."

"What day?" Brendan started rubbing the hands that were around his waist.

"When you beat me! They didn't congratulate you, or me, or anything..."

Brendan sighed, but tried to remain calm. "May, that happened four years ago...And it happened back in Hoenn. We're exploring Sinnoh right now."

"NO! But Brendan, they--"

Brendan turned around and kissed May directly on the lips, instantly quieting her. They remained doing so for moments.

Dusk looked at Wizard. He was holding his tongue out with his ears fallen low. His expression was as if he was looking at a train wreck...He wanted to look away, but couldn't.

Brendan slowly pulled away from the kiss. "No buts, May...I want you to apologize to both, Dusk and Dawn, right now, okay?"

"I'm sorry..." May murmured out, still frightened of the two.

"Hey, May, could you do me a favor and go wrap up those sleeping bags? Ask Pikachu to help you too..." Brendan sighed.

"...Okay..." She stepped over to where the sleeping bags laid and started rolling them up. Wizard came over to help.

Dusk walked over to Brendan, who was rubbing his eyes. "Want to go ahead and tell me what's going on, er...?"

"Ugh...I wake up this morning and find Wizard in May's sleeping bag, with the latter nowhere to be found. I got up and tried finding her, but as I'm sure you realized by now, you two found her before I did. Umbry, I'm really sorry...I don't know what's going on with May. Her mind keeps going to the past, or something..."

"Ha...Thank Wizard for finding her. He must have caught her scent or something. Brendan, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want you to do me a favor..."

"Only if you do me one."

"You first," Dusk allowed.

"If it's not any trouble for you two...I was hoping I could ask you to stop using nicknames in front of May. Her mind's so messed up right now, what's she going to think when she hears a Quilava called 'Moonite' jump out of a Pokéball?"

"That won't be very much of a problem..." Dusk slid his foot on the ground, removing a few blades of grass from their roots.

"What do you mean?"

Dusk shot a quick glance at Dawn before looking back at Brendan. She was too busy crying to be paying attention to them, so he continued. "...I want you and May to take the rear. Far rear."

Brendan cracked his finger bones.

"Dawn--"

"No, I know. Dawn took that pretty hard."

"I don't want you taking this the wrong way. You know that we still need you, and May, if she's even up for this anymore."

"Thanks, bro."

"It's just the truth."

"No, I don't even mean that...I mean, you know, trying your best to help May and everything..."

"...Don't make me yell 'OOC.'"

"Yeah. Sorry."

Dusk picked the food up and slipped it into his backpack while Brendan walked over to help May, who seemed to be having trouble with the second sleeping bag.

"Dawn? Do you want to start?"

Dawn slowly, silently got off the ground, refusing to lift her head up. She hated when Dusk saw her tears, because she knew that Dusk hated seeing them.

"If you need more time, we'll wait. There really isn't a rush."

She ignored it and bent down to pick her bag up, when her eye caught something inside. She picked it up and held a tight grip on it.

Brendan looked over at the two and saw what Dawn was holding. He let out a small moan. "..._The Friend Ball_..."

"..._No...No! What if you're from Team Rocket?! You're just tricking me!_"The pain of those words only multiplied as Dawn held May's gift in her hands. She felt the sudden urge to chuck it as hard as she could at the back of May's neck, but something stopped her. She let the ball slide back into her bag and stood up, then started leaving the campsite.

Dusk and Brendan shared a look with each other before the former started walking behind his friend.

When Dawn was directly on the side of May, she lifted her head up and shot a glare at her. Dawn's crying was evident. The confused woman, having been busy with the sleeping bags, didn't even notice it. Dawn lowered her head once more and continued walking.

Dusk looked at Wizard, silently telling him 'let's go.' The Pokémon stopped fumbling around with the sleeping bag and climbed up to Dusk's shoulder. "We'll see you two later, alright?"

"We'll be at your six in a minute..." Brendan bent down and grabbed his rolled-up bag, half curious how this day was going to work out, half not wanting to know.

When Dusk caught up to Dawn, he found her searching through her bag. He assumed for a tissue. "Dawn, I--"

"No, Umbreon...If I...have to cry to you one more time..." Her voice was still shaky, but she remained determined.

"I don't care about that, Dawn. I just like seeing you happy, and if that means you have to cry first, then I want to help you with it."

"I...I don't get it, Umbreon...I don't! Yesterday, I was telling that woman how important she was to the team, now she's accusing us of hurting her?! I know...it's not her fault. I know...after she forgave me for hurting her, I need to do the same..." She choked. "...That hurt, Umbreon." She stopped walking and hugged a single arm of his, holding it tightly for support.

Dusk also was forced to stop walking. "_Hey, we made it about one and a half minutes. At this rate, we can reach Celestic by the end of next year_. Dawn, I--"

"I'm sick of crying, Umbreon...Can't all four of us just be happy? Just for a day or so?"

"Someday, Dawn..." Dusk rubbed her back with the arm without a girl draped on it.

"Umbreon..." Dawn set her head on the edge of his shoulder. "...May hates me..."

"No, she doesn't--"

"She told me she did, Umbreon. She said that everybody on this team's done something to her, and there was something stopping her from forgiving us...How am I supposed to talk to May while she's like this? How am I supposed to be forgiven?"

"When she gets her memory back, you can--"

"'If,' Umbreon! 'If'! Quit making it sound like we have a countdown of days until she suddenly remembers us, because it might not exist!"

"...Dawn..." Dusk could never have guessed what May said had hurt her so much.

"...The May I loved to be around is gone, Umbreon..." Dawn sniffled. "She's replaced with some fourteen year-old in a fully-developed body that couldn't care less if either one of us dropped dead right now." Dawn broke away from Dusk and actually got a bit of distance between him.

"May..." Dusk sighed. He had absolutely no idea what to say right here. "May...Her mind...is playing tricks on her. She keeps thinking she's in the past. Brendan will snap her out of that, Dawn, and that's when she'll finally be willing to accept us as friends again. Until then, we have to be patient with her, because she needs us as much as we all need her back."

"But why did my best friend have to lose her memory...? Why couldn't it have been me?! Then I wouldn't even remember that I work for Rowan! It'd be a win for everybody!" Dawn nearly broke down again, but managed to stop herself.

Dusk smiled. "Because if it happened to you, you would have forgotten how much you hate Roark, and it wouldn't be as fun when we finally kill him."

"Umbreon, I...I'd normally say that I'd expect you to hate me for saying this, but I know that you won't...You're too nice for that..."

"I don't plan on ever hating you, Dawn," he reconfirmed.

"Umbreon, I..." Dawn's eyes turned in the opposite direction of Dusk. "...I don't think I can really be around May anymore."

--------------------------

"Hey, I got an idea!" Brendan didn't know how much of a lead Dusk had wanted, so he decided to stall for as long as he could. "How about you release your Pokémon? Maybe that'll help somehow."

"Oh...okay. I can try." May slowly reached for one of her three Pokéballs and held it in her hand.

The top opened, revealing one of her Pokémon. "Squirtle, Squirtle!" The Tiny Turtle Pokémon backflipped out of the Pokéball.

"Now this one I remember!" May lifted her Water-type Pokémon up. "You've helped me in almost every Contest I've been in, haven't'cha?"

"Squirtle..." He blushed at the comment.

Brendan smiled. He was glad to see May happier than...well, what she was just a few minutes ago.

"Alright..." May recalled Squirtle and grabbed a different one. It opened up, revealing her very first Pokémon.

"Blaze, Blaziken!" she screamed, rather roughly.

May blinked. "...A...Blaziken?"

"Your Combusken evolved, May. _A really long time ago_. And she's only gotten stronger since!"

She continued staring wide-eyed at the Pokémon. However, she quickly recalled it when she felt tears returning to her eyes. She looked at the ground. "I...don't remember Combusken ever evolving..."

Brendan hugged May, though she didn't return it. "You will, though, May...Just have a little faith."

"Brendan...My last Pokémon...Will I remember it?"

He sighed, afraid that he knew the answer. "...I really don't know, May..."

She nervously reached for the remaining Pokéball and opened it up. After the beam disappeared, her remaining Pokémon cocked her head slightly. "Torchic, Torchic?"

May blinked. "I...got another Torchic...?"

"She's your Blaziken's daughter, May..."

Torchic turned her head from side to side. "Torchic, Torchic tor?"

"Sorry, Torchic, Wizard isn't here right now..." Brendan answered.

"Wizard?" May wondered.

Before he could respond, Torchic dashed away and down the road, chasing after Dusk and Dawn.

Brendan noticed May wasn't moving. "...Hello, May?! You can chase after her now!"

May put the Pokéball away. "No, it's okay...If you were a Pokémon, would you want a clueless Trainer to help train you?"

"May, you aren't--"

"Please don't bother, Brendan..." May began walking down the same path as well. "Just admit that I have no idea what's going on anymore...I have no clue who most of my Pokémon are, I just yelled at two people that I might've really been friends with, and there's this bandage on my left arm, for some reason...I don't know any of it..."

"Actually, I'm kinda glad you brought that up. Why did you think that Dusk and Dawn were from Team Rocket?" Brendan wondered.

May choked. "I don't know, Brendan..."

"What?"

"Just...something came over me, and I could only think about how Team Rocket always used to do stupid stuff to trick me, like dress up as different people...When I finally realized what I was doing, that girl was on the ground, crying..."

"You...didn't know what you were doing?"

"...I'm scared, Brendan..." May drew closer to her companion.

"It's okay, May. But you have to understand, you can always trust Dusk and Dawn, alright? If I'm not around, always turn to them, and don't be afraid of them. They won't hurt you." Brendan, once more, sighed. "_May_..."

"That boy...and that girl...Where did you meet them?" May asked.

"We," he accented. "met them in a place called Jubilife City."

"Do they live there?" she quickly continued.

"Uh..." Brendan laughed. "I guess I really don't know."

"How long have we known them?"

"I think about a week or so by now." He was glad May wasn't afraid to ask any questions she had, even if he couldn't answer them very properly.

"Oh...the boy just reminds me of Ash, that's all...The girl's Pikachu looked a little sadder than Ash's, though..."

"The Pikachu's Trainer is Dusk," Brendan corrected. "That's why it climbed on his arm instead of Dawn's."

"Oh...Before you got here, Dawn was just being so nice to Pikachu, so I thought it was hers...Brendan, ha--"

She paused, confusing Brendan. "What?"

"...Has it...really been four years?"

"Yes, it has." Brendan was almost ready to start crying himself. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could actually take.

"Brendan...I want you to take me home..." May said quietly.

"That's a good idea. Seeing your folks may help, but I'm sorry, that isn't really an option right now...Maybe after Galac--"

"No, Brendan...I...have to go home. I need to get away from you. I'm just...hurting you..."

"May! No, you're--"

"I'm going to stop by the lighthouse before though, okay?"

Brendan blinked, then finally realized what was happening. "May! You're doing it again!" He grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her.

May shook her head. "...What? What am..."

"May, your mind went back to the past again...You were thinking about when we were at Olivine City a few years ago when we had some time to waste before a Contest in Oldale..."

"Oh..." Tears started coming to May's eyes again. "I guess...I should get used to doing that..."

"_Oh, Deoxys, please no_...May, I have an idea. Up ahead a ways is a place called Celestic Town. When we get there, we'll call your family, OK?"

"Is my brother still in Johto?"

"Nope, he's back, and I'm sure he'll be thrilled to talk to you again," Brendan smiled.

"Alright!" May smirked. "Let's go to Celestic Town, then!"

They continued on their way down the path silently, until May decided to get curious again.

"How old are those two?"

"Fourteen, I think," he answered plainly.

"..._So I guess they're twins or something...?_ Hey, Brendan, I got thinking..."

"Oh, well this won't end well," he chuckled. If May would remember anything, it'd be that Brendan always taunted her.

Somehow, May ignored it. "Maybe the reason I keep going to the past is because I don't know what to expect from the future...What are we doing?"

"Didn't I tell you about Team Galactic?" Brendan retold the plot, focusing on their rival team. How they stole Dusk's Pokémon, that Team Rocket's working with them, and just all-around how much they suck. He continued on and explained how they were going to Coronet to finally shut them down.

May giggled. "Well, if Team Rocket's working with them, I don't think we have very much to worry about."

"Yeah, they didn't seem too bright when I met 'em. I know they won't be a problem in the least, but we really need your help to keep it that way. Are you up for it?"

She smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder. "If you want to do it, I want to do it too!"

Brendan's curiosity finally got the best of him. "May, did...did your fever go back down?"

Her head quickly jumped back to her neck. "What? What fever?"

"...Er, nevermind. _Waitaminute...what? How does she not know what I'm talking about? She just passed out on the road yesterday because of that fever_..." Brendan sighed, then showed a crooked smile. "_Leave it to May to complicate things_."

"I thought I had a fever yesterday, but by the time we reached Lilycove, I was feeling better..." May rattled out mindlessly.

Brendan walked in front of her and drew his head closer, once more, until his and May's lips were connected. As much as he wanted to continue, he forced himself to pull away from it eventually. Instead, he quickly hugged her. "I need you here, May. Not back in Hoenn."

"Oh, I'm horrible! I can't do anything right..." May choked. "Brendan, what's wrong with me..."

"Nothing's wrong with you, but when you get those feelings of the past, you have to fight them, May!"

"How? Brendan, I'm a psycho...I don't know when they happen until I wake back up..."

Brendan hugged his girlfriend tighter. "It's okay, May..." He was forced to stop his own tears.

Suddenly, May's head perked up. "...D-Damia..."

"What?"

"Damia...Maybe...she could help me..."

As far back as Brendan could remember, they'd never come across anyone named Damia. "Who--"

"Yes! I have to find her!" May ran down the path as fast as she could.

"MAY!!" As much as he hated to admit it, Brendan knew that May could hurt herself, so he was forced to chase after her. "_If she doesn't slow down...I ain't racing Wizard today either...That rodent's gonna get pissed at me one of these days_."

They continued on, Brendan sometimes stumbling to keep up, until they eventually caught up to Dusk and Dawn.

Hearing the two panting people behind them, they stopped and turned around. When Dawn saw that it was May, she turned back around and continued walking.

When he got to him, Brendan stopped running at Dusk. May, however, continued to race down the path.

"What are you doing?!" Dusk snapped. "I finally got the subject off'a May..."

"I'm so sorry, Umbry...She just tore off on me. I couldn't stop her."

Dusk sighed. "..._If at all possible, try to keep the amount of blood loss to about a pint or so, please?_"he prayed.

Brendan had a brainstorm. "Hey, buddy, I know this might be a really bad time to ask and everything, but...Did a certain Torchic happen to hop by here?"

--------------------------

"Please wait!" May cried.

Dawn, however, didn't have any intentions on stopping. "I have nothing to say to you, May..."

"Damia, I know that--"

"What?"

"I said that I know that you're probably angry at me! And I'm sorry...I didn't know...we were such good friends..."

"...It's cool, May." Even Dawn couldn't tell if her words were sincere or not.

"I just...have this little voice inside...telling me that you can help me somehow..."

"Well...I-I don't know how much I'd trust it. I can't really do anything for you, May." Dawn closed her eyes. That came out so much harsher than she intended it.

"...C-Could we be friends again...?"

Dawn smiled. How was she supposed to say no to that? "I really hope so."

May turned her head to the side. "I should probably apologize to your brother, too..."

The Sinnoh-region Trainer stared down the road blankly. "..._Brother?_"

"Would it be okay if...I just called you Damia? I know it's not your real name, but I can never remember it..."

Dawn laughed. "Okay, sure. And May?"

"Huh?"

"I know that you're pretty...confused right now, and even though I don't really know how...I want to help you in any way that I can."

"Thank you," May hugged Dawn. "I'm going to go talk to Dusk now..." She started walking back to where the other two were.

Dawn laughed again. "_She can remember Umbreon's name, but not mine? And I have to admit, that wasn't really the way I wanted to get my first nickname_..." She smiled as she continued walking. Though she might not admit it out loud right now, she was glad to be able to call May a friend again.


	19. A Trip Down Memory Lane

The entire team spent the rest of the day traveling, mostly together, though May sometimes fell back to collect her thoughts. They couldn't quite make it to Celestic Town before night fell, so they were forced to set up camp in the forest once again. It was there that Brendan made his dramatic apology to Wizard for not racing him that day. After some modesty and insistence, Dusk and Dawn were allowed to sleep in the Hoenn Trainer's sleeping bags while the other two slept much the same way Dusk and Dawn had the night before.

Morning rose, and with it, the Trainers.

"Here you go!" Dawn handed May back her bandana. She had given it to Wizard that night for the same means as the night before.

"Thank you. Hey, Damia..."

Dawn shivered, fearing the boys had heard that. She hadn't had the chance to explain her new nickname to them yet, and finding out randomly like this wasn't how she wanted it to happen. Luckily, they were too busy talking with each other to have noticed.

"Have you...ever been to Hoenn before?"

Dawn sat next to May on the ground. "No, but one day I will! Just to see you and Brendan again."

"Oh...okay." May rubbed her eyes.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, but, it's just...Your cast. You look like somebody that I saw trapped in a burning building back in Hoenn, and I thought maybe you got hurt in there, but I guess it's just my stupid mind making fun of me again..." She sighed, disappointed in herself.

"May!" Dawn yelled. "Brendan told me how you sometimes think you're in an episode from the past!"

"So?"

"So?! May, you just controlled it! You stopped one from happening!" Dawn hugged her still-confused friend. "That's great, May...It might mean that you're on the road to recovering."

May was still slightly confused, but she went with it anyway. Hearing something like that come from her new friend made her feel pretty good.

"All right," Brendan clapped once. "Let'sa go."

Dawn sprung up, then helped May get to her feet. As soon as they turned their backs, ready to leave, they were interrupted by light stomping on the ground behind them.

"Torchic! Torchic, Torchic Torchic Tor!"

"Pika?" Naturally, Wizard was the first to turn around. "PIKA CHU!" He waved to his lost friend.

"Torchic Torchic, Tor, Chic!"

"Chu, pika pi?"

Brendan chuckled. "I guess Torchic musta gotten lost or something..."

"Torchic? Do you still want me to be your Trainer?" May asked.

"...Tor?" She cocked her head, curious what kind of question that was.

"Pika, Chu!" Wizard nodded.

Torchic ran over to Dusk and jumped on his remaining open shoulder. "Torchic, Torchic!' she yelled joyously, hopping up and down.

"Oh...well, that's okay too..." May couldn't even attempt to hide that she was disappointed. Even if she'd only known the Pokémon for a few minutes before it ran off, knowing it was hers still hurt.

"Relax, May." Brendan rested his hand on her shoulder to help cheer her up. "Your Torchic and Dusk's Pikachu like each other. There's no way she'd ever accept him as a Trainer."

"Oh...Okay." Seemingly only half-believing his words, May nodded her head.

The team got on their way.

"Hey, you say that now, but remember who's got the bag of cookies in his backpack. Isn't that right, Pikachu?" Dusk asked without turning to his Pokémon.

Wizard's head was buried inside Dusk's backpack, which the Electric-type had just opened. "Pika, chu!" was the muffled answer. Soon, he pulled out a normal-sized cookie and split it in half. He happily shared the treasure with his love. Crumbs fell down both sides of Dusk's vest as the Pokémon happily ate the strange morning snack.

"And was I wrong about something?"

"Nope. You did it again, Dusk," Brendan admitted.

May blushed as she grabbed a hold of Brendan's arm. She still couldn't believe Brendan was her boyfriend.

Dawn saw this and smiled at the two, somewhat jealous that if she did the same to Dusk, it'd just look like she was seeking attention. "_Then again, I'm a future Coordinator...I should get used to taking the spotlight from other people_," she laughed to herself. A sudden urge to confess something forced her laughter to come to a quick end, however. "Hey...Dusk? Brendan? I suppose I should go ahead and tell you this now..." As the two in question looked at her, she only got more nervous. She tried averting both of their gazes. "May...sorta...has a hard time remembering my actual name, so she's calling me..." Dawn ended, praying hard that May would finish it for her.

"...Damia..." May finished softly.

Dawn let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Oh...Aw'right," Brendan responded plainly. "Cool."

Dusk remained silent.

Winded by surprise, the girl turned to Brendan. "You, of all people, aren't going to make fun of me?"

"If it's easier to May, then whatever. Besides, I needed a new name for you."

Dusk laughed. "Hey, Brendan, I got a name for you. Want to hear it?"

------------------------

The day continued peacefully until Dawn let out an excited scream. "Dusk! Umbreon! May!" She never cared to realize that she had said the same person twice. "Celestic Town is just over that hill!"

Wizard shot a confident smile at Brendan.

"Oh, yeah, I know what you want...And no more stalling. From one side of the town to the other. How's that sound?"

Wizard turned around and slapped Dusk in the back of the head. "Pika, Pikachu!"

"Ugh...Don't I get that enough from Dawn?" He rubbed the smacked spot.

"I think he's reminding you that you forgot something..." Brendan alerted.

"Huh?" Dusk looked at Wizard to see his unusual yellow forehead. "Oh, right." He stopped moving, slid his backpack off of his arms, and searched for Wizard's headband.

Dawn started conversation with the other two while they waited. "You know, it's kind of weird...Dusk's been saying lately that he can actually understand what Wizard says sometimes..."

"Wizard?" May blinked.

"Er...Pikachu!" Dawn hastily covered. "_Forgot_..._No nicknames._"

"Pikachu are somewhat special Pokémon," Brendan explained, watching Wizard flail around when Dusk tied the headband too tight. "When the bond with their Trainer is really great, they begin to really understand each other. It happens with other Pokémon, of course, but the results are somehow always the best with Pikachu."

"Really?" Dawn blinked in amazement. It crossed her mind whether Rowan knew that or not, though she kept the question to herself.

"Yep. Truthfully though, I wouldn't be surprised if you could start understanding Pikachu soon too, Dawn. When you get down to it, both of you are pretty much his Trainers."

Dawn smiled. "_He...wouldn't be the first Pokémon that I understood..._" She looked to the ground, hoping to keep her thoughts and expressions a secret.

May giggled, re-gripping her boyfriend's arm. "I want to catch a Plusle, Brendan!"

"Uh..." He almost started laughing. "That came from nowhere."

"I think there are some Plusle down in Hearthome City somewhere," Dawn added shyly, unsure if it was her place to speak up.

"Nah, thanks. I have a feeling she has a specific one in mind." Brendan smiled as he watched Wizard shoot Dusk with a bit of electricity for having so much trouble getting his headband back on.

"Mm-hm!" May nodded. "Everyday at three 'o clock, a Plusle and a Minun always play just outside my house." A thought occurred to her--she was getting too confident in her memory. "Brendan...they still do, don't they?"

"Every single day those mice are out there, falling in trash cans and whatnot."

Dawn and May laughed.

"THERE! You happy yet?" Dusk moaned.

"Ka," the Pokémon nodded obnoxiously.

"Cripe..." Dusk got back onto his feet and dusted his hands off.

Dawn bent down to Torchic. "You know, if Wizard has an accessory on, you should get one too!"

"Torchic!" She nodded to the plan, then turned to her Trainer with hope shining in her mischievous eyes. "Torchic, Torchic?"

"Well, okay, but it has to be something small!" May chuckled. "Now thank Aunt Damia for volunteering me to spend some of my money..."

Dawn stood back up. "Don't worry, there's a perfect shop right here in Celestic where you can get her something nice." She smiled at Dusk. "Ready?"

"_If Umbry thinks these two are at each other's throats, I'd hate to see what happens when weapons get involved...Then again_--" Brendan's perverse thoughts were forcefully dropped when the entire team continued walking again.

The hill that they needed to hike up was much steeper than they remembered it being. Still, they knew that the energy they'd spend complaining could be used to get up the rough slope, so they decided to keep the thoughts to themselves.

Being the closest to the top, Dawn was beaming. "_I can't wait to see Celestic Town again...So many great things happened here! Maybe May will even remember our battle!_" When she finally reached the top, dismay rushed through her body and shook her heart. Shock forced her to fall on her knees. "...N-no..."

"Dawn? What's wrong?" Dusk picked the pace up and reached the top of the hill himself. Upon seeing what was beyond, he almost fell back down. "What the--?!"

"Now hold up." Brendan stopped in his tracks, causing the attached May to follow suit. "All right, this can either be a really good thing, or something really, really bad. I'm going to go against the house and say something really good?"

Slowly, as if she was only paying half-attention to what Brendan was saying, Dawn shook her head.

"...Can I take that bet back, then? Just curious." Brendan sighed, knowing that this wouldn't end well. With May still clinging to his arm, the remaining two reached the peak.

Three Trainers glared on with utter awe. May just stared at it blankly. "So this is Celestic Town? I was kind of expecting it to be a bit bigger..."

The brilliant, lush Celestic Town that the team was expecting to see was nothing but a memory. Instead, the village that held the most knowledgeable people in regards to Sinnoh's myths was in utter ruins. Healthy grass was replaced by dirt and sand. Not a single tree was to be seen. The only building that wasn't fully demolished was the Pokémon Center--nevertheless, that had its entire roof missing, and was also severely damaged. The cave that Brendan and May had explored was hidden behind fallen rocks, which had broken off from the hill the cave was under. Rather than the celestial feel that the city previously had, it was filled with the air of pain and suffering.

Without saying a word, Dusk ran down the opposite side of the hill, determined to find out who was responsible for the destruction. Dawn soon followed after him, then Brendan. May broke apart from Brendan, afraid of slipping as her boyfriend sped down the slope much faster than she was. She slowly made her own way down the hill, curious why everybody was acting the way that they were. Torchic stayed at her Trainer's feet.

Dusk looked left and right. The only living thing in the vicinity that was angrier than Dusk was the mouse on his shoulder. "Somebody's going to pay for this." After a swift agreement from his Pokémon partner, he decided to dash over to the remains of the Center to see if anything had survived.

The Hoenn Trainers stayed back with Dawn. "First person who admits to doing this only gets one of their kneecaps broken," Brendan fumed.

Dawn suddenly fell on one knee.

"Damia! Are you okay?!" May hurried to the girl's side and bent down to pick her up.

"I...don't know," Dawn answered quietly, barely even aware she was getting raised back to her feet. "_B...Berlitz?_"

"That was sorta random, Dawn...You sure you're all right?" Brendan asked.

With his beret lowered farther down than usual, Dusk slowly stepped over to the other Trainers. Instead of his shoulder, Wizard had attached himself to Dusk's pantleg. "Guys...I might have an idea who's behind this."

Brendan and May looked at Dusk. Dawn was too lost in thought to care.

Dusk handed Brendan a note that he had found on the side of the PokéCenter.

"_Team Galactic was here. :P_" the note read in rather sloppy handwriting.

Brendan crushed the paper in his hand. "You HAVE to be kidding me!!"

Umbreon excused himself from the rest of the team. He headed towards a hill that held a certain memory for him.

"Guys...I really feel bad for what happened to this Town, and everybody in it, but I..." Dawn paused, then turned around to face May. She slowly lifted her head up so she could make eye contact with her. "May, I know that...you probably don't remember, but you gave me this." She pulled out the Friend Ball from her handbag.

"I...did?" she asked blankly, unwilling to scrape her mind in hopes of remembering the detail.

"Yeah...It was from your brother. It was special to you, but you gave it to me anyway, just as a symbol of our friendship. And since...it is so important to you, I wanted to ask for your permission to use it to capture a Pokémon with."

"My...brother?" After the confusion wore off, May smiled widely. "If I gave you that Pokéball, then it's yours, Damia! You should use it however you want."

"Er, not to crash the party or anything, but...What Pokémon do you plan on catching with it, exactly? I mean, there's kinda...nothing out here," Brendan notified, unsure if Dawn knew it or not.

Dawn turned back around and closed her eyes. She lifted the Pokéball up in front of her. "...Do you want to come with me, now?"

"Um...Damia?" The female Hoenn resident took one step backwards. "W-who are you talking to?"

"I know that...I could never care for you as much as your last Trainer did," Dawn continued, ignoring whatever her friend was saying. "but I promise that I'll try my best, okay? You know that you were special to both of us. But, it's been a little while now, and a lot of things have changed. If you don't want to, I understand."

"..._And I'm worried about May?_" Brendan blinked.

Silence passed without a single muscle twitching from any of the three Trainers. Without warning, Dawn made movement as she tapped the Pokéball in the air. A red light appeared in front of it, but swiftly disappeared into the Pokéball. It began shaking in her hand.

May gasped. Brendan was equally surprised, but did nothing except raise his eyebrows in curiosity.

The Friend Ball continued to shake. A small sweatdrop ran down the side of Dawn's face. "_Trust me,_" she begged anxiously.

"B-Brendan? Wh-what's happening? How did Damia...?"

The ball calmed down, resting peacefully in Dawn's hand. She breathed a small sigh of relief, then turned around to the other Trainers.

Only a small bit of guilt for not answering May's questions was rushing through Brendan while he blinked at Dawn. "...Penny for your thoughts?"

Dawn clenched the ball tighter. "May, you...also probably won't remember this, but I sorta indirectly told both of you something about me...See, I...don't know who my father is, my mother passed away, and my younger sister was killed in a car accident..."

Tears came to May's eyes. To prevent them, she drew closer to Brendan, as if that were to help Damia out somehow.

"D-Dawn...I'm sorry. We didn't know..." the boy replied, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend.

"No, Brendan, it's all right. I have to admit, I was kinda hoping May would have a clue who I was when I finally told you two that, but anyway--"

"So is that why you're moving into Dusk's house?" Brendan interrupted. "I thought that...Well, there was a different reason."

Dawn smirked. "Providing it's not _exactly_ what you're thinking, I won't deny that I do want to be closer to Dusk...But, yeah, that's the main reason, and the reason he invited me to live with him in the first place."

"Damia..." May started nervously. "Did...you tell me that before?"

"No, and I'm sorry. I probably should have, but I guess I just didn't want to upset you any. Anyway, uhm," Dawn chuckled, realizing how far off-topic she'd gone. However, she instantly quieted back down. "...Brendan, May..." She released the Pokéball. "...this is Berlitz. It was my sister's Pokémon."

The Pokémon finally revealed itself to human eyes. "Misdreavus, Mis!" The Ghost-type Pokémon smiled as its pearl necklace jumped around its unique body.

"...'Sup?" Brendan replied to the ghoul.

Dawn kicked at the sand on the ground, causing small clouds to blow away in the wind. "Before she left me, my sister managed to throw Berlitz's Pokéball into the air, which let her fly away. I never really expected to see it again...and definitely not like this."

Brendan gulped, too scared to talk. Since he didn't know if Dawn was happy or sad that she had found an old friend, it was rather difficult for him to say anything.

Dawn rubbed her eye of a tear, then fixed her hair behind her ear. Her voice sounded of crying. "When we were little, Berlitz, Ashley and I would always play hide and seek. Berlitz would turn invisible, then send out a small signal so we could find her...I think we were the only two that could hear it..." She smiled as her new Pokémon circled in the air around her head. "And when we came into this Town, for the first time in a few months...I heard that signal again. That's how I knew that Berlitz was here. If, uhm...neither of you mind, I want to go tell Dusk, okay?"

"Of course," May whispered hoarsely.

Dawn grabbed the Misdreavus and held it around her waist. She walked over to Brendan's opposite side. "I'm sorry...for using Berlitz's nickname. It's just too special to me to call it anything else."

"No, Dawn, don't apologize..." Brendan responded promptly. "In a way, it seems like I should be the one apologizing. Sometime in the past week and a half I had to make some stupid comment about your family, huh?"

"No, Brendan. We're friends, and besides, I don't want to have a who-needs-to-apologize war right now. I sometimes have enough of those with Dusk. A-anyway, I'll just go explain everything to him quickly, then we might as well be on our way..." For the first time since they reached it, Dawn took a look around Celestic Town and sighed. "It's not like there's anything to do here now..." Her boot's steps could be heard on the grainy wasteland below.

Still being ignored by everybody, Torchic watched Dawn's figure as she headed for the same uphill that Umbreon had hovered to. "Torchic?" she questioned to herself.

May stepped forward to where Dawn had just been a moment ago. "Damia...She...doesn't have a family?"

Brendan mimicked the bird Pokémon and turned his head to watch Dawn walk up the hill. Though she looked broken-hearted, he couldn't help but feel that she was happy. "Guess not..." Not about to let awkward silence win, Brendan exchanged subjects. "Where did you get that name anyway? 'Damia'?"

May blushed. "I know that it's somewhat close to her real name...I can just never remember it."

Brendan put his hands on May's back and began stroking it. "I think she likes that name, anyway."

------------------------------------

"This is it, Dawn." Dusk pounded his foot on the ground two times. "This was where..."

"This was where I--"

"This was where I threw that 'we're just friends' line out the window."

Dusk hadn't even noticed Dawn was holding a Pokémon. His back was turned to her, so it was to be expected.

Dawn lightly petted the top of Berlitz's head. "You...took this pretty hard, didn't you?"

"I'm kinda guessing you already know about me telling May to battle you, right?"

"Well, it was sorta obvious..." Her eyes turned to the side, hoping Dusk didn't take that in a way she didn't mean it.

"While you were doing that, Brendan and I...and Wizard, of course...we got talking. And out of nowhere...he told me to never let you get away from me."

Dawn blushed hard. "Umbreon! You told Brendan about what we did here?!"

"No, I didn't..." Dusk sighed. "It's like he just knew, or something."

"...Maybe he realized you weren't firing that 'just friends' thing around as much either, like I did..."

"Dawn, in more than one way...this was our Town, you know?" He finally turned around to face her. His eyes caught glimpse of the Pokémon she was holding, but he didn't want to change the subject. "With this Town destroyed, what if--"

"Umbreon..." Dawn let Berlitz go free. With her hands available, the girl walked forward and set a hand on Dusk's shoulder. "I know that, as you are named after a black cat, you might believe in superstitions...Whether they're true or not, I don't know, but Dusk, just because this Town went up in flames, doesn't mean our relationship will."

"I guess...So what--"

"You're not feeling better yet. Don't change the subject," Dawn commanded. The surprising order made her friend flinch for a moment. "Dusk, I know that all those things happened in this Town, but...what does that mean, really? We just happened to be here when all those things happened. They could have happened anywhere. Say we first showed...some...affection...for each other in Veilstone...Would you still be this upset?" Dawn couldn't believe those words actually came from her mouth.

"You don't--" Again, Dusk couldn't finish.

"I think it's terrible what happened to this Town, but I'm doing my best to use it as further inspiration to take Galactic apart."

"You can really--"

"Yes, I can," Dawn cut in for a third time with a smile. "If you want, maybe, one day, we could come back here...You know. To help rebuild the Town again."

"Can we paint a giant 'G' in the middle of the city with blood dripping down from it?"

"I'll be sure to let the contractors work that one in..." Dawn took her bandana off as she slowly treaded up to Dusk. "Berlitz, Wizard...look away for a minute."

"Pika, chu..." Wizard knew his cue. He jumped off of Dusk's shoulder, then ran away to find Brendan.

"Mis...dreavus?" The Screech Pokémon blinked, then slowly followed after Wizard.

"What's this about?" Dusk asked, a small smirk on his face.

"I wanted to bring up a little nostalgia for the both of us..." Dawn put her arms around his back and began rubbing his neck with half of her bangs, and the other half of her forehead. As usual, she was giggling to herself.

"Where did you get this idea, anyway?"

She giggled slightly louder than she had been. "Wizard..."

Dusk's sexual attraction plummeted. "...You got your romantic ideas from a foot-tall Pokémon?"

"He smells so cute..." Dawn answered, barely paying attention to the topic. "And he sits on your shoulder all the time, so it rubbed off on you..."

"So, in your mind, you wish you were hugging a Pikachu right now..."

"Hmhm...No, see, because then that combines with the other cute scent you have on you...Mine," she resumed giggling. "Umbreon, I..."

"You...?"

"...Let's just shut up and enjoy the moment."

Dawn let nothing interrupt her during her exercise. That is, until the hormone-driven woman's tongue involuntarily reached out and licked Dusk's neck. She quickly backed away from him, both hands covering her mouth. Her face matched Umbreon's beret's color. "I am so sorry, Umbreon...I have no idea how that just happened. I, just..."

Dusk rubbed the violated spot with his glove and chuckled. "You know that I don't mind it...but do that in front of my mother, and you probably will be sleeping outside in a tent."

Dawn smiled weakly, unable to do any more. She still couldn't get over what she had just done. She turned around and began tying her bandana back on. "We should, uhm...go find the other two."

Dusk sat down on the ground. "Until you calm down, we aren't going anywhere."

"Calm down...? What do--"

"You're shaking, Damia," Dusk smirked, hoping to pester her with that name as often as he could.

Still keeping her distance from her strangely calm boyfriend, Dawn also sat on the ground, understanding they probably had a little wait ahead of them. "I really am sorry, Dusk...We shouldn't move that fast!" Her teeth ran across her bottom lip. "_We haven't even said what we should have said last time we were in this Town_..."

"I told you. Don't worry about it. So, how's May doing?" Dusk broached. "Do you know?"

"Better!" Dawn exclaimed. "I'm glad. She seems to have an easier time staying with us, even if she couldn't tell us what Pokémon we have..."

"Hey, Dawn, and before I forget...I got talking to Wizard--"

"Suuure you did," Dawn teased.

Dusk forgot the mock and finished his statement. "...He was more than energetic at the idea of you being his Trainer. Co-Trainer, I mean."

"What?" Dawn instantly became serious. "No, Dusk! You and Wizard are so close, I--"

"Wizard's attached to you too, if you haven't noticed."

"Yeah, but it's not really the same. I mean, you two are like brothers! Just...he got the looks, but besides that! It would just feel like I'm getting in the middle."

"Dawn, if you forgot, he virtually owes you his life. It's not that he'll just start ignoring me. I mean, besides what he already does. I just want you to know that if I'm not around, Wizard will be more than happy to battle alongside you."

"...Thank you, Umbreon," Dawn smiled shyly.

Dusk was glad that Dawn was finally starting to forget about what she did to him. Still, he decided to keep the subjects moving. "Now, who was your friend there?"

"Oh." Dawn stood up. "Let's see..." She walked over to the edge of the hill and laughed. "I still got it, don't I?"

Berlitz appeared in front of her. She'd been watching the whole time, but prayed that her Trainer hadn't noticed.

Dawn grabbed her and walked back over to Dusk. "This is Berlitz. She was...Ashley's Pokémon..."

Dusk looked to his side. "...Oh."

"No, Dusk, don't worry about it. I won't cry, I promise," she said, trying too hard to laugh. Realizing that she had failed at that, her eyes returned to Berlitz. "I'm glad I found her. I never would have guessed that I'd find her again in a place like this, but..."

The boy got off the ground. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Dawn sighed. She tried looking at Dusk, but the sun caught her off-guard and forced her eyes back to the ghost. "...I-I will be. I just need a little time, that's all. Dusk, I, uhm...When I was introducing Berlitz to Brendan and May, I sorta didn't tell them something..."

"What's that?"

"You know how...you can kinda understand Wizard?"

He didn't react.

Dawn looked down at the top of Berlitz's head and smiled. "I can...understand Berlitz, too..."

"Hey...Cool," her friend replied, clueless as to what else he was supposed to say.

"I don't know if you heard him or not, because you were kinda busy, but Brendan was telling me how Pikachu are somewhat special Pokémon. When both the Trainer's and the Pikachu's trust are high, it's like they can actually communicate with each other. He also said that it happens with other Pokémon too, but not as efficiently as with Pikachu..." Dawn explained, seeming uneasy during the entire speech.

"If you're having trouble telling me this, then why are you?"

Dawn blew out a self-conscious sigh. "Because, I guess it's an apology...I made fun of you a lot when you said you could understand Wizard, and now that I met up with Berlitz again..."

"I don't know what's more amazing, Dawn." Dusk walked past her, then stopped. "The fact that you and Berlitz trust each other after such a short time..." He smirked. "...or just you."

Dawn smiled. Her face turned back to a light shade of red, caused by the over-the-top compliment.

"I'll head back to Brendan and May. You can come when you're ready, and then we'll take off." He walked down the hill, habitually where the road used to be.

The stranded girl smiled once more, then sat back down. "Hey, Berlitz...Remember that one time, when you hid up in the tree, and Ashley climbed all the way up to get you, then remembered she was afraid of heights?"

---------------------------------

"May? Where's Brendan?"

May was startled at the voice behind her. She turned around to see a vaguely familiar figure. "Oh, Dusk...Brendan and Pikachu ran off somewhere...Something about a race?"

Dusk laughed. "Wizard's finally getting his race, huh? How are you doing?"

May turned back around. "Terrible..."

"That isn't what Da--mia just said a second ago." The boy wasn't positive if it was okay to use Dawn's real name around May or not. Keeping on the safe side, just in case, was the best idea, he thought.

"I just keep thinking about how much Brendan trusts you two...It's, like, I know that we're friends, I just don't remember you...And that makes me feel like a terrible friend."

"It's not your fault, May. Don't blame yourself for that." It was at this moment that Dusk realized something--he and May were standing in these exact positions in this same spot right before Dusk burned his hand. "_May..._"

"You and...Damia are so close, so I'm sure she must have told you...Does she...hate me?"

"That's more of a question for her, isn't it?" Dusk asked, successfully sidestepping yet another question. He wished he'd been keeping score.

"No, because she'll probably just lie to me, and tell me what I want to hear. Just...we've been traveling together for a couple days now, and she seems nice to me, but it's like she feels forced to be nice to me, rather than because I'm her friend..."

"_Traveling together for a couple days means that I'd still have to blow Galactic's Eterna building up_..." Dusk sighed, but tried to keep his mind off that subject. "May, I don't know if you know this or not, but Dawn considers you a best friend. And trust me when I say that it's hard dealing with her long enough to work up to that status."

May rubbed a tear away from her eye. "I'm sorry, Umbreon, I guess I just need to talk to Damia about this...Sorry for bothering you."

Dusk was forced to do a double take. "...What was that?"

"Huh?"

"What did you just say to me? Repeat it down to the word."

"I said that I'm sorry for bothering you, and that I should just talk it over with her."

"What did you just call me?" Dusk continued.

May blinked. "Um...'you'?"

Dusk's eyes narrowed as he fixed his beret. "_No...that wasn't it. There's no way she could know my actual name. I haven't even heard it lately._"

"Is something...wrong, Dusk?" May was worried that her friend wasn't moving.

"...No," answered Dusk after a worrying pause. "I'm fine."

May suddenly, weakly dropped to her knees. Before giving Dusk much of a chance to get worried, she shook her head and stood back up, shaking. "I'm sorry...Guess I just got the wind knocked out of me a bit..." Her eyes constantly avoided Dusk's.

"Are you all right?"

"...Y-yeah! I'm fine..."

"Maybe I should go get Damia, and we'll leave now...You sure you're going to be all right?" Dusk waited for May to nod, then ran back towards the hill, quickly making his way up it.

May kicked at the sand, unaware that it was once a stair. "..._Got the wind knocked out of me in a way that felt like my soul shattered...Brendan...help me_..."

---------------------------

"Dusk? What's wrong?"

Dawn was still sitting in the same position she had been, still reminiscing with Berlitz. The Pokémon was more than content sitting in her Trainer's lap.

"Can't explain now, but we got to leave. I was hoping you could do me one favor, though." Without even waiting for a confirmation, Dusk continued, "First chance you get, occupy May. I need to talk to Brendan for a minute without May being there. But for now, we have to get out of here." He turned back around and ran back down the hill.

"Ugh..." Dawn stood up and dusted her skirt off. "I hate when Umbreon does this...He never tells me if it's an emergency or not!" She chased after him, making sure not to accidentally squeeze Berlitz too hard while she ran.

"Misdrea, Misdreavus?"

"Oh, sorry...I guess I never really introduced you to him, did I? He's Dusk, but I'll call him Umbreon if I'm mad at him..." She felt her face blush slightly. "...and even though I'm pretty sure you were watching us, he's...my boyfriend."

Dawn caught up with Dusk, who had already reached May. All three traveled to the west exit of the Town, where they found both Wizard and Brendan, laying on the slightly charred grass of outside Celestic, completely out of breath.

"Dare I ask?" Dusk blinked.

"...I won." Brendan weakly raised his victorious arm into the air. "Yes, I won. Even with your rodent's cheap tricks, I still beat him..." His arm quickly crashed back down to earth.

"Cheap tricks, huh?" the Trainer smiled. "And what might they be, Pikachu?"

"He tried shocking me, for one."

"Pikachu!" Dusk scolded. "I've already told you this before. If you're going to hurt Brendan, make sure I'm there to laugh at him."

"Finding something to laugh at Brendan about isn't so hard...Don't worry Dusk, you'll have other chances," Dawn laughed.

Brendan threw in a mock sigh. He pushed against the grass with his arms, lifting himself up high enough to twirl around and sit on the grass with his bottom. "Oh sure, you two just keep having your--"

"Stop it!" May stammered. "Stop making fun of Brendan!"

All three Trainers stared at her, blankly, and somewhat surprised.

Unable to know what their reaction meant, May paused for a second, then tore off past them.

"May!!" Brendan tried getting up, but Dawn stopped him.

Her eyes were turned to Dusk. "Something tells me...I need to do this." Slightly hesitant at first, Dawn ran off after May, though she couldn't hope to actually catch up to the experienced Trainer.

Brendan eyed Dusk for a moment. "...Penny for your thoughts?"

"This day is so weird...But, hey, atleast we're moving in the direction of Coronet this time." Dusk picked Wizard up and cradled him in his arms, knowing he couldn't walk by himself after that race. He smiled, which turned into a couple forced laughs. "Hey Brendan, I got a joke for you. What did May call me ten minutes ago?"

Brendan smiled. "I don't know. What?"

Dusk's expression quickly turned back to seriousness. "Umbreon."

As did Brendan's. "What?!"

The Sinnoh Trainer offered Brendan a hand to get to his feet. "May and I were talking, and out of nowhere, she sprung my actual name on me. Did you tell her it?"

"No!" he exclaimed, accepting the help.

"Well, I'm almost positive Dawn didn't, and I'm also pretty sure I never consciously told her. Let me guess, blame it on the electric mouse, right?"

"I suppose asking if you happened to have a tape recorder going when she said it would be a bit much, huh?"

Dusk turned his body back around, allowing him to stare at the horrid wasteland that Celestic Town had become. Getting out of Brendan's unintentionally harsh gaze was a plus, too. "She doesn't want to say it again, I know that."

Brendan looked down the path. Dawn and Berlitz could just barely be seen, meaning May was already much too far ahead to be within sight range. "So now what are we supposed to do?"

"I actually told Dawn to occupy May so I could ask you that same question," he said, not moving his head.

Brendan began hobbling down the path. The sound made Dusk glance at his friend, then quickly catch up to him. "Right now, I have to wonder what Dawn's going to say when she needs some help herself," Brendan stated, knowing that Dusk was in hearing range. "Catching that ghost thing took her home...I guess, somewhat literally."

"If you're going to talk to Dawn about it, don't do it if she's not already thinking about her family," Dusk requested using a commanding tone of voice.

"Yeah, I know...Dang, when she told me something about her family back in Veilstone, I thought she meant like a dog or something. I didn't know she..." Brendan paused, thinking very hard about his words before he said any more of them. "Considering you two are yin and yang, I should really shut up about this subject right now, shouldn't I?"

"I'd rather you talk to me about it a lot than Dawn," Dusk replied honestly.

"I don't mean to cut the subject here, but tell your rodent it's his turn to walk, and my turn to get carried." The exhausted adolescent snapped his fingers. "Move it, big boy!"

--------------------

"May! Please hold on! Please..."

May had slowed her running to something more like a fast-paced walk, which allowed Dawn to somewhat catch up to her. However, she was still forced to run to keep up, and her legs were quickly getting tired.

"I have nothing to say to you," May spat.

Dawn choked. "May, I'm sorry...We were just having fun! We didn't know you'd get upset by it!"

May suddenly stopped and turned around, anger exuding from her face. "You hurt my boyfriend, which means you hurt me too! Friends don't make fun of each other!"

Dawn began sobbing while she rubbed her eyes of the tears that were forming in them. She remembered when May almost started laughing whenever they ganged up on Brendan. To see her so hurt by it wounded Dawn deeply. "I'm...sorry, May..."

"Brendan shouldn't have trusted you! You're just like that Frontier Brain that kept making fun of us!"

She temporarily stopped crying. "...Frontier Brain?"

"He made fun of us, and Brock!"

"_No! She's_--" Dawn ran up and hugged the angered Coordinator. "May, you're having another episode from the past...You have to--"

May pushed Dawn off of her, causing the emotionally-weak girl to roll on the ground and land on her side. "Don't touch me, traitor!" May turned around and continued running.

Berlitz hovered in front of Dawn's sunk face. It had dirt marks on it from where she rolled. "...Misdreavus, Misdreavus Mis?"

"Yep, I'm crying again..." she sniffled, "Just like the last time we saw each other, huh?"

"Misdreavus, Misd--" She was cut off.

Dawn grabbed her and held her tightly to her neck. Tears only fell faster. Though most of them rolled off the side of her face, Berlitz got a little wet from a few drops as well. "I find an old friend...and lose a new one..." She choked and continued crying, nobody around to help her but Berlitz.

------------------------------

"And with my backpack on, might I add."

"Wow, you really must be off the ball today, Wizard."

"Pika, chu..."

Wizard had recently regained enough strength to enter the conversation. Torchic, having been forgotten yet again, had caught up with the male Trainers, and was perched on Brendan's shoulder.

"How much does that sleeping bag slow you down, anyway?" Umbreon wondered.

"I tested it once. I counted about seventeen seconds' difference, but considering I had a tiny mishap with a garbage can on one of those runs, take that as you will."

Dusk laughed, though it was soon stopped cold. His eyes rested on the fragile figure that had been pushed to the ground. Recognizing the navy-colored hair quite clearly, he dashed forward in silence, deciding against dramatically shouting Dawn's name.

"And...more running. Super great. Just what I needed today." Brendan sighed as he tried to catch up to Dusk.

"Tor chic," the Fire-type offered in an attempt to comfort her chauffeur.

Dusk bent down on one knee, putting both of his hands on a single one of the person's arms. "Dawn, what's wrong?"

No response. She just continued sobbing.

"Where's May?"

Again, no response. This time, however, her Pokémon answered for her. "Misdrea..." She was looking in the direction they were heading in anyway.

"Ugh...I'll go find her." Brendan set Torchic on the ground next to Dawn and began running as fast as possible down the pathway.

"Brendan," Dusk called out, obligating Brendan to stop. He turned around to find Dusk's eyes hidden beneath his beret. "...I'm getting sick of seeing May hurt Dawn. Set May straight..." He stopped as if he ended his sentence before he was originally going to.

Brendan grunted. "There was going to be an 'or' after that, wasn't there?"

Dusk nodded his head.

The Hoenn Coordinator released a strong breath out of his nostrils, then continued running after May faster than he previously was. "_I can't blame Dusk. Though, I could blame Dawn for crying so much...Gah, what am I saying. It's May's fault, whether I want to admit it or not. I want to take Galactic down, but I can't stay here if May's just going to hurt Dawn in her confused rage...Sorry, Umbry_." Brendan set his thoughts aside, allowing him to concentrate on running better.

Back at the crash site, Dusk was still trying to get his comrade to do anything. "Dawn, it's okay," he coaxed, "May probably said some things she didn't mean to you. Please calm down, Dawn..."

The girl finally moved. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes with her dirty arm. She got up, nearly falling back down, due to her crying weakening her body.

"Misdrea...vus?" Berlitz questioned blankly.

"Dusk, Berlitz...Thank you...for helping me." Cutting the dramatics short, she chuckled. "I'm beginning to wonder if I even deserve you, Umbreon..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he shot back, marginally offended.

"It means that I'm an idiot." Dusk began talking, but Dawn continued, overriding him. "If I wasn't an idiot, I wouldn't have laid on the ground, crying like a baby, while my best friend runs away, steamed at me." Dawn took a bottle filled with warm water out of her bag and took a drink of it. She set it back in her bag, then walked over to Umbreon. "Here. I want you to hold onto this for me." She was holding her entire handbag in front of Dusk.

"What...?"

"Take it. There's more coming," she laughed.

Dusk took her handbag, confused as ever.

She began untying her bandana. "I can't stop you from looking in the bag. I'll just tell you right now that I cleaned most of it out back at the Center."

The budding Trainer pushed back a frown. "I'm not sure what you take me for, but I have more respect for you than that."

After setting her loose bandana inside the holdall that Dusk was gripping, she began undoing the knot in her scarf. "I don't want this thing ruined, understand?"

"What...are you doing?" Dusk wondered.

She continued stripping herself of her accessories by removing her arms from inside the black vest she was wearing. "I have to catch up to May as fast as I can...All this stuff will just slow me down."

"Brendan--"

"I know Brendan went after her. I need to, as well," Dawn countered, dusting her shoulders off.

It was strange for Dusk to see Dawn so empty. She had taken off two of those accessories before, but never at the same time. This was the first time he ever saw Dawn without the vest. "But...you were just crying--"

"I'm done crying. My best friend is somewhere down this path, hating me with every fiber of her being. Rather than sitting here some more and being an overall jerk, I'm going to run after her and try to work this out."

"I can come with you," Dusk offered.

"No...I'm sorry, Umbreon, please don't take that the wrong way. If it's all right with you, I really want to do this by myself." The future Coordinator turned to her loose Pokémon. "I want you to stay with Dusk, okay? You two should get to know each other better."

"Dawn, then you won't have any Pokémon to protect you--"

"Protect me from what?" Dawn cut in instantly, holding an expectant look on her face.

"...Er..." Dusk really didn't know how to continue.

"If you mean from May, I don't want to use any Pokémon for that anyway. I don't want to hurt her." Dawn ran her right hand through the strands of her own long hair. "And if you mean wild Pokémon, I'll just try running away from them."

"That doesn't always work, you--"

"If it doesn't work, then...Well, I guess we'll see if it doesn't work. If Berlitz wants to be a bad girl, her Pokéball is the green one." Dawn turned around to face the path and stretched her legs, prepping for her own little race.

"Are you sure about this..." Dusk muttered worriedly.

Dawn giggled. "Remember, Umbreon, the scarf doesn't get touched, okay?"

Dusk hummed a growl, releasing frustration. The only thing he hated more than Dawn rushing through a forest full of wild Pokémon without protection is who was waiting for her on the other side. The fact that Dawn was so optimistic about it only made it worse. "Be careful, Dawn..."

"Says the person who let his hand be burned by his own Pokémon."

"I--"

Before a proper counterattack could be given, the girl took large steps at an amazing pace. Her speed had increased by atleast half of what it was last time she ran. Her beautiful hair seemed to hover in the air, directly above her pure white collar. It was hardly a moment before the girl was out of Dusk's view.

The only human remaining sighed. "Berlitz...This might be a strange start, but I want you to know something. Dawn...will be just as good of a Trainer to you as your first one was. I promise you that."

"Misdrea, vus..." she mumbled lowly, watching the area that Dawn had disappeared in.

"Well, I suppose we should start chasing after her eventually..." Dusk stashed his friend's bandana and scarf into her handbag further, as to avoid getting them accidentally damaged. Before zipping it up, his eyes caught hold of a paper. He felt absolutely terrible that he felt like he absolutely needed to look at it. "_If Dawn cleaned her handbag up, it's strange that a loose piece of paper would stay in there_..." He looked at Berlitz, who wasn't even paying attention to him. Her mind was still lost, wondering where Dawn went to. The curious mind that's gotten him into trouble more than once finally took precedence over rationality. He reached for the paper and looked at it.

"_6/14 No more stalling. I have to tell him_."

"_June fourteenth...that's this Thursday, and our planned due date to scale Coronet_..." Dusk's heart began racing. His mind automatically shifted to every possible negative solution. "_Is she leaving? I...haven't treated her badly, have I? Is she going to Hoenn with Brendan and May? No...Don't tell me she's actually going with Rowan to Kanto._"

Suddenly, he started laughing. "_Way to be optimistic...I don't even know this letter's about me. It could be for Jun, or even Brendan. Or Charmy, or...you know_..." Despite the attempt, his heart was still downtrodden. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to be himself around Dawn anymore. "_I can't risk losing her. Not...Not Dawn._"

He forced himself to stash the paper back inside, which ended up crumpling it somewhat in the process. He zipped the bag up, then slid it into his mostly empty backpack. "...I'm going to need a new blanket, aren't I?" He sighed upon realizing the reason his backpack was so empty. His blanket had been in the explosion of Celestic Town, completely unsalvageable. He shook it off and turned to Wizard and Torchic, who had been unnaturally quiet this entire time. Upon inspecting them for a moment, he found out why.

"Pika...chu."

"...Chic..."

The Pokémon had three things in common: they both had a blank expression on their face; for the most part, they were both speechless; and neither of them could take their eyes off of the other's.

A small grin turned into a slightly embarrassed smile as Dusk felt he was somehow caught between the two, even though he was comfortably on the side. "..._Um_..."

"Pika pika, chu, pika...?"

"Torchic Torchic, Tor..."

"_Sounds like they're hypnotized_." Dusk's smile turned wide as a thought came to his mind. "_This is sorta like what happened to me and Dawn, wasn't it?_" He continued observing the two from the spot he'd been standing in. "_Both nervous. Unable to put feelings into words. So fearful of what that burning passion in your heart is_..._I never knew Pokémon acted this way_."

He continued watching in silence. The last thing that he and Dawn had wanted in Celestic Town was to be interrupted, so he had no reason to ruin the moment for Wizard and his love. Thinking about this, another thought hit him. "..._No. Dawn wouldn't betray me. If something so serious was wrong, she would have told me about it by now_." Dusk fully put the thought of the note out of his mind, now confident that he could do so. He began talking with Berlitz, letting the other two Pokémon enjoy the moment with each other.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, Dawn finally saw her goal, but not before getting all the way through the short forest. She found herself in a wide-open plain. Grass could be seen for many miles to the left and right, and straight ahead was a dirt road leading all the way to Eterna, created specifically for Trainers to traverse easily on.

Having seen it once, the scenery wasn't what Dawn was worried about. Looking far ahead, she spotted that Brendan had stopped May. The two were talking, though Dawn was too far away to hear what was being said. Her running turned into a quiet walk as she strolled toward the other two.

"...doesn't, Brendan! Okay? It doesn't!"

"Then just tell me what's wrong already!" Brendan snapped back, trying to keep his rage under control. "I love when Dusk and Dawn make fun of me, mainly because I can always turn it around on them! We're all friends, May, and we like to joke about things."

"There's a thick line between having fun and making fun of someone...And to me, those two crossed that line!"

Dawn took her cue to speak up. "Brendan? Can I talk to May now?"

Both of them turned their heads. Neither were aware that Dawn was even there until she said that. "What are you doing here?!" May sneered.

Dawn couldn't bring herself to look at May very confidently, though she tried her best. "...We're going to work this out, May. Right now, and I'm not leaving until we do."

"C'mon, May..." Brendan lightly flicked one of May's bangs. "Tell me what kind of friend chases after somebody for two and a half miles, just to apologize? A good friend, if you didn't know."

Dawn smiled weakly, turning timid because of the compliment. "Thank you, Brendan...but I really need to talk to May myself, if you don't mind."

Brendan looked at Dawn. Her sad expression was obvious, but that didn't stop her determination. Brendan slowly took a few steps back. He was going to stay out of the conversation, but definitely not leave.

"I don't want to talk to you, Damia," May demanded, folding her arms and turning her head away.

"Then would you listen? Please?" Dawn begged. "May, I'm sorry that you think I tried to hurt Brendan, or you, on purpose...I know we haven't gotten off to a great start ever since you lost your memory, but please May...please believe that I'd never try to hurt you on purpose. I still think of you as a best friend, May."

May dropped her folded arms. She turned to, and walked closer to Dawn. She put one hand on Dawn's shoulder. As a fist, the other went clear across her face. Dawn spun to the ground and faceplanted onto it, dirtying even more of her shirt.

"MAY!!" Brendan nearly jumped his girlfriend himself.

"I don't care what you think of me..." May scowled, her words like verbal poison. Her fist was still in the air, unmoved from where it had made contact with Dawn. "I don't care if your cheap words are kind...You and your stupid brother mocked Brendan without a single reason. How dare you even think I'd consider you a friend after that."

Those words were what stopped Brendan from moving, much less interfering. Never in the past four years has May ever said anything remotely close to that. The worst part of the entire situation was that he was trapped in the middle of it all.

"M-May..." Dawn slowly got off the ground. Her right cheek was red from where she had gotten hit. Though it was hard, and it hurt, nothing serious had been done. She smiled. "Does seeing me in pain...help you?"

"What?" she replied sternly.

"If seeing me...hurt...helps you feel better, then here..." Dawn raised her right arm up. "Release your Blaziken, and tell her to break my cast. Then you can do whatever you want to my broken wrist, okay? It's not fully healed yet, so I'm not sure what will happen if it's injured again...But May, if it helps you feel better, then it's worth it."

"Now hold on!" Brendan intervened, but Dawn waved him off.

"Brendan, I want to do this...I know that May needs me. Maybe she needs to see me in pain. If that's the case, then I'm going to let her see me in pain."

"...Where's Dusk?" The oldest Trainer available jerked his head towards the forest, looking for his younger companion. "I want to hear what he thinks about this."

"I gave him all of my stuff so I could run faster. He's still back where we were, as far as I know. Brendan, if you wouldn't mind, could you go back and find him?"

"Dawn, I wasn't born yesterday!" Brendan snapped. "I'm not going to leave as you get your arm amputated! I'm not leaving until you two--"

"Go, Brendan," May said quietly. Her arms were once again folded; her eyes, below her bangs.

Brendan took a deep breath. "...I'm sorry, May, but I can't trust you right now. I can't trust that you'd know better than to snap Dawn's arm in half. Not after what you just did to her a minute ago."

"Brendan, I like Umbreon...If he sees me like this, he's going to flip out, and maybe even hurt May himself...I want you to go back, and maybe stall him, or something." Dawn was calm. Even though she knew fair well that May was towering above her, she remained calm.

May turned around, seemingly disinterested, and started continuing down the path.

Dawn shot up and followed her.

"Don't follow me..." May warned.

"I'm not leaving, May."

May stopped. "Brendan, please get this 'Dawn' away from me..."

He didn't reply. He wasn't sure if he was in a place to.

"I'm sorry for hurting you. How can I get you to forgive me?"

May took a Pokéball out and released the Pokémon inside. "Blaziken, please stop this girl from following me."

"...Blaze?" She looked at May, then at Dawn. Confused why she would be asked to block Dawn from following her, the Blaze Pokémon didn't move.

The upset Hoenn Trainer put the Pokéball back away and continued walking.

"May!" Dawn sidestepped Blaziken and chased after her.

"_Combusken would have actually helped me..._" May cursed under her breath. "Don't you get that I just want to be alone right now?"

"And don't you get that I'm not going to let you until we become friends again?!" Dawn lost her temper. "May...You're leaving for Hoenn in a couple days. It could be a very long time until I get to see you again, if I ever even get to. If that's the case, then I refuse to leave our friendship on a bad note."

"WHAT friendship, Dawn?!" May yelled, in awe of the other woman's persistency. Tears of pure hatred pricked her eyes. "What friendship? Since when have we had a friendship? For as long as I've known you, we've done almost nothing but argue!"

As much as she tried avoiding them, water came back to Dawn's eyes. "The friendship that we had...two days ago. The friendship that we had when you rushed into my room to assure me that something that happened to you that night wasn't my fault. The friendship that we had that gave me someone to talk to when I was too shy around Dusk. You probably don't remember those times, but I do. I'll never forget them, May."

"...No. I don't." May continued walking.

"May Birch," Brendan called out, very clearly, "You walk away from this girl, and I don't want to see your face again. Do you understand me?"

That was plenty to get her attention. "...Brendan, I don't want you to leave me..."

"Yeah? Well, Dawn doesn't want you to leave her, and look what you're doing."

May didn't respond.

Brendan had to stay strong, though he couldn't deny that threatening to leave the woman he loved for the past four years hurt. Still, his eyes were locked onto May's like she had committed a crime. "Do you think this is the girl I fell in love with? Someone who walks away from a friend who's crying to them? Do you remember who you are? Apparently not, so here's a refresher course. You helped, May. You helped everybody. You'd help an assassin that's out to kill you if you could. I'll tell you right now that this isn't what I want to see out of you, May."

"Brendan, I hardly remember anyth--"

"You know something? I don't give a damn what you remember or not anymore."

Dawn's eyes widened. "_Brendan...Did he just swear?...At May, no less?_"

"This isn't the May I remember, and this isn't the May I want to know anymore. Until you change back to who you used to be, I don't want to see you again."

"Brendan!" May spun around. More tears were in her eyes than in Dawn's. "You want me to be who I was in the past, then you people keep complaining about me falling into these 'episodes.' Now you hate who I am now. What do you want me to do, Brendan?"

"May...You took an ant hill and turned it into Mount Coronet Jr." Brendan's glare kept brutal. Counteracting the harshness was the fact that his heart was beating a mile a minute. "First, I want you to apologize to Dawn. And Dusk. And for the last damn time, I want you to trust them already! Quit thinking they're out to get you! Second, I want you to drop this tough girl act! It's not like you, May."

May bit her quivering lip.

Dawn finally spoke up. Her shocked emotion carried into her voice more than she thought it would. "Brendan, please don't swear at May..."

"I'm getting sick of having to explain this every five freakin' minutes! I hate raising my voice to May, but if it's the only way I can get her to listen, then I guess I have to do it."

Dusk finally made his way up to the rest of the gang, just in time to have heard Brendan's shouting. Berlitz was flying around him, and the other two Pokémon were on either of his shoulders, eyes still locked. "What's, um...What's going on here?"

"You always did have good timing, didn't you, Umbreon?" Dawn smiled, then walked over to him. "Can I have my bag, please?"

Dusk spun around, giving Dawn the blunt of his backpack. "Top compartment."

She unzipped it and took her handbag out, then zipped his backpack back up. She unzipped her own as she walked over to May again.

"Dawn...I'm sorry..."

"I don't want you to say that because Brendan yelled at you, May. I want you to say that because you want to build our friendship back up as much as I do."

"I do..." she nodded slowly.

Dawn hugged May, somewhat startling her. "You can start calling me my nickname again, if you want to."

"Nick...name?"

"Yeah! Damia. Don't tell me you forgot that?" she asked jokingly, holding her tongue out a bit.

"Dawn, I didn't mean to give you that name...It was just the--"

"I know you didn't...But I like it anyway! Especially since you gave it to me, you know?"

May pulled out of the hug. "Damia, I...really am sorry. I've done so much to you that I shouldn't have, and--"

"Don't apologize anymore, May. Once is fine!"

"But after--"

Dawn began laughing. "Umbreon, Brendan...I think the May we remember is back."

"...But I don't remember anything..." the woman mumbled, being heard by only Dawn.

Dawn looked deep into May's eyes and smiled. "May, you always apologized for everything. It's so great to have that back."

May stepped over to Dusk and let her head sink low. She knew she deserved it. "Dusk, I...I'm sorry for hurting your sister so much."

Dusk raised an eyebrow, but let her finish.

"And I know that I said some mean things to you, too...I'm sorry for all of it. If we...had one before...could we rebuild our friendship, too?"

Dusk leaned in and hugged May as well. "I think we should do that." He decided to ignore the comment implying that Dawn was his sister.

May looked at Brendan. In fear, she took two steps back, rather than closer to him.

He chuckled to himself. "I guess it's my turn to apologize, huh? Sorry, May. Maybe I shouldn't have yelled at you." His now-friendly eyes shifted to the side for a moment. "Maybe."

"Brendan...I don't want to lose you..." she replied, still as nervous as she had been.

"You won't, May. I promise."

This time, May ran up and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Brendan...I've caused a lot of pain for everybody...I'll try to be better from now on..."

"If you really mean that, then we're good," her boyfriend assured her.

May smiled as she gripped Brendan even tighter.

The other Hoenn Trainer squirmed out of her grasp. "All right, all right, that's enough. I'm allergic to cheddar, and if this place gets any cheesier, I'm gonna hurl. Let's get to Mount Coronet already!"

"Wait, Brendan..." Dawn held her hand up. "There's...one more apology needed." She walked over to Dusk and picked his hand up. "...I'm sorry, Umbreon." Rather than continuing, she turned from Dusk and walked over to May. "May, I..."

"You have nothing to apologize to me for, Damia..."

"No, that's not it. See, this scarf..." Dawn took it out of her bag. "My sister...she got this scarf for me minutes before she got killed. Obviously it's an important item to me, but you know something?"

May continued staring at her wide-eyed.

"May, I...want you to have it." She held out the scarf in front of her. Without turning around, she addressed her other friend. "I'm sorry, Dusk...I know that I promised I'd give it to you when we went to Mount Coronet, but now I really want to give it to May."

"But...it's so important to you..." May hadn't made a reach for the gift.

"Yeah, it is...But I know that you'll take care of it." Dawn smiled as Berlitz started flying around her head. "Besides, I have Berlitz to remember my sister by...Now I want to give you something to remember me by."

Dusk's eyes fell behind his beret again. "_She can't get it out of her mind that May and Brendan are leaving soon_..."

"Just remember, if you ever get really mad at me again, try to not hurt the scarf, okay?" Dawn requested with a laugh, despite being quite serious.

"I won't..." she replied quickly, slowly accepting the fact that the gift was hers.

Brendan intervened. "Dawn, you know, I got thinking, we could probably stay in Sinnoh longer...I mean, I can't enter the Contest with May like this, and--"

"No. You shouldn't do that, Brendan." Dawn started walking back to Dusk. "May needs to see her friends, and family again. If we can't help her now, then we probably never can. But her family might be able to." Now standing at his side, Dawn grabbed a hold of Dusk's hand. "Besides, the longer you stay, the harder it'll be when you do leave, huh?"

A moment of silence passed. Finally, May smiled wide and began strapping the scarf around her neck. "I'll protect this with my life, Damia!"

"Mm-hm!" Dawn nodded.

Dusk looked at his Pokétch. After nearly nothing but set-backs all day, it already read 15:09. "It'll only be about two more hours until we hit Eterna. Not far from there is the entrance to Coronet. We'll rest for the night in Eterna, and tomorrow, we roll out the welcome wagon for ourselves. Brendan, if Jun isn't there to help Dawn, can Metagross give her a hand?"

"What? Oh, sure, if she needs it," he agreed.

"Thanks, but I know he'll be there...Jun is just as excited about this as we are. Actually, I think he's more excited to be teamed up with you and me, Dusk," Dawn laughed. "But, if not, thank you, Brendan."

"That's it, no more planning. Eterna or bust!" Dusk announced.

Brendan and May took the lead, with the Sinnoh Trainers in the back.

"This sucks..." Dawn cursed.

Interested, Dusk's eyes strayed off of the path so he could look at Dawn. "What's that?"

"I want to put my head on your shoulder like I always do, but there's a stupid chicken on it..." the girl whined.

"Here, I got an idea." Dusk picked Wizard up and set him on his beret. He then picked Torchic up and let Dawn rest her head on the shoulder. When she was comfortable, he set Torchic on the side of her head.

Dawn giggled. "Oh, yeah, I was hoping I could get claws dug into my skull..."

They continued trudging onward until they finally reached yet another of their many destinations; Eterna City, part two.


	20. One Last Hurrah

The time was 19:00 on the dot. May, Brendan, and the two Pokémon were already back at the PokéCenter. Dawn and Dusk found the same platform they were sitting on before, with the Dialga and Palkia statues on it, and comfortably rested on the grass there.

"Haha...Are you nervous, Dusk?" Dawn asked slyly.

"I'm not nervous. Just apprehensive."

Dawn laughed and began digging through her handbag, looking for her bandana that she hadn't equipped yet. When she grabbed it, she noticed a piece of paper that was inside was crumpled up more than it was last time she looked at it.

"I know I shouldn't say anything like this, but do you actually trust May with your scarf?" Dusk wondered. "If she doesn't trust us, that the next time you see that thing, it might be in three pieces..."

"I'm willing to chance that," she said confidently, tying her bandana on loosely. "And besides, like I said, if worse comes to worst, I always have Berlitz to remind me of my sister. It's not that I won't miss the scarf, I just...know that May needs it more than I do, that's all."

Dusk stared upwards at the pinkish sky, taking advantage of the comfortable position he was in to do such a thing. "Kinda amazing that Brendan and May'll be leaving, huh?"

Dawn laid back on the grass. "Umbreon, do you realize that the day they do will be our second day of traveling alone together after almost two weeks?"

"...Do we even have a clue what we're doing?"

The excited Trainer laughed again as she inched her way closer to Dusk. "You know...I thought you said you'd respect my privacy more than that..."

"You knew that I read that stupid note?" The boy released a heavy sigh. "You know what your problem is? You're too observant of everything."

"Well, what if I tell you this..." she bribed after she hugged Dusk's arm, "The person I'm referencing in the 'stupid' note is you, Umbreon...And if you can patiently wait until tomorrow, I'll tell you what it means, okay?"

"Why do you have to wait until tomorrow?"

"Because I need the date..."

"..._6, 14...What about it?_" Dusk thought to himself. Giving up on that, he switched topics. "Anyway, now that we're kinda pretty close, I suppose we should start discussing it..."

Dawn rubbed her head on Dusk's arm to cure herself of an itch. "What's that?"

"What are we going to do after we beat Team Galactic?"

"Confident as ever, are we?" the girl smiled.

"If we lose, we're probably going to die anyway, so we might as well just assume we're going to beat them," Dusk replied, lacking any emotion.

"Er...that's one way to look at it..." she muttered quietly. "Well, I think maybe we should return to your home for awhile, then we--"

Dusk smirked. "I think it's about time you stop calling it 'my' home."

"--Then we, uhm..." she continued, basically ignoring him. "It's up to you, really. We could start training for Contests, or we could start looking for Nuclear, if you want."

"You still remember that?"

Dawn giggled as she snuggled even closer to Dusk. His body's warmth was enough to make Dawn forget that she had been asked a question.

There was silence for a few seconds, which the male of the two forced himself to break.

"Of course, this is all providing we aren't too busy sending out Wizard's wedding invitations."

"Oh, those two have gotten so close, haven't they? It's so cute..." Dawn remarked, still mostly lost in the feel of Dusk's arm. "It's going to break their hearts when the other two fly back to Hoenn..."

"I know...That's why..." Dusk turned his head away.

The strange pause tipped Dawn off that something undesirable was soon to come out of her friend's mouth. She let go of his arm and sat back up, watching Dusk with an anxious look on her face.

"When the time comes, I'm going to give Wizard the choice."

"U-Umbreon?" Dawn stuttered. "What do...?"

"I'm not going to force Wizard to stay with me if he'd rather be with Torchic."

"I'm his Co-Trainer!" Dawn snapped back. "Don't I get a say?!"

Dusk casually looked at her. "Would you actually force Wizard to stay if he doesn't want to?"

The woman Trainer was shut down. Her eyes fell to the ground in defeat. "...No..."

"You should have seen those two in the forest, Dawn. They barely blinked when they looked at each other."

Yet some more time passed, this silence turning out to be longer than the last one. Dusk was out of subjects, and Dawn was trying to imagine her life without a Pikachu in it.

It was almost a full minute before a new subject came up. It was suggested by Dawn, partially to keep her mind off of losing Wizard. "I-I know we're done talking about it, but are you upset that I gave May the scarf and not you?"

Dusk closed his eyes, thankful for a topic, but annoyed that it was this one. "I'd rather have you than the scarf, Dawn..."

"Sorry, Umbreon. I didn't mean to push it." In spite of her apology, she put on a wry smile. She could sense that Dusk was still somewhat disappointed, but at the same time, knew that what he had just said was true as well. "..._Tomorrow, Umbreon_..."

-------------------------------

"May, are you sure you don't want to go do something tonight? It might take your mind off of things..."

Brendan had just stepped out of the bathroom, fresh from a shower. He was still drying his hair with the towel. May was sitting on the very edge of the bottom bunkbed, observing the magnificent scarf that was around her neck. Wizard and Torchic were on the top bunk creating odd noises that neither Trainer dared to look into.

"You should, Brendan," May argued weakly. "I'll stay here and take care of the Pokémon."

"Nah, that's all right." He sat down and put his hand on her knee. "I'd rather be with you."

"Even after I--"

"I'm still a little pissed about you hitting Dawn, don't get me wrong. But I know that when you apologize, you mean it. Like that time we were in the Safari Zone, and you kept shooting rocks at the Pokémon, but they all ended up hitting me somehow."

May laughed. "I remember that!"

"Hey, May, y'know, I got thinking, uhm..." He took a break from talking to clear his throat. "What is the last thing you remember, anyway?"

"The very last thing? Uhm...We were...going...somewhere...on a train, I think. But I don't remember anything else...I'm sorry, Brendan."

"No, May, that's great! You're probably thinking of when we went to the Battle Frontier on that tramway. That means you've got about two years of your memory back. Hopefully just a few more days to go, huh?"

"I hope so..." May sighed. "I'd really like to know who gave me this scarf, other than 'that girl...'"

"But, uh...Are you absolutely sure you don't remember anything else? Maybe something like a, pssh, I don't know," he shrugged. "Maybe something to do with an Eevee evolution?"

May thought hard for a moment. After failing, she looked at the ground sadly. "...No. I'm sorry. Am I...supposed to?"

"...No! No! Of course not. Just kinduva thought..." His voice trailed off, leading way for his thoughts. "_Man, that's weird. Maybe Dusk just didn't hear her right or something_..."

"Brendan? Are you sure that...this is my Pokémon?" She held up Blaziken's Pokéball. "When I told it to stop Damia, it didn't move..."

"She was confused," Brendan answered, setting the towel on the bed beside him. "She probably didn't know why she was being sent to attack a friend."

"Oh, right...I-I shouldn't be wearing this." May started removing the scarf, but Brendan put his hand on hers, halting her progress.

"Why not?"

"I hurt her so much, Brendan..." Tears, once more, were forming quickly. "And you heard how important this scarf is to her...I don't deserve it..."

"..._Now this is the May that's hot,_" Brendan stated to himself, smirking shamelessly. "No, don't cry, May..." He tried comforting her with a hug. "You're just as important to Dawn as that scarf is, understand? And I'll go find her and bring her back here just so she can tell you that, if I need to."

"We're going to Mount Coronet?"

Brendan blinked. The shift in subject was so fast and random, he needed a moment to formulate the answer. "Er...Yeah. Tomorrow we are."

May blushed. "I remember when we climbed Mount Chimney together..."

"Yep...And if I'm not mistaken, when we reached the top, I think we might have done this for about three minutes..." Brendan leaned closer to his longtime partner...

----------------------------

"You can't be serious."

"It's true!"

"It's impossible. Nobody's ever told her your real name! I mean, since..."

Dusk and Dawn were taking their time getting back to the Pokémon Center. They knew they had to get some sleep, but decided to enjoy each other's company alone for awhile longer. They were casually strolling through Eterna City, taking in the sights, though they recognized most from their last visit here.

"But she wouldn't do it again?" Dawn continued.

Dusk shook his head.

"I'll see what I can do about it tomorrow...Maybe I can gently get it outta her."

Dawn swiftly stopped walking. She turned her head to the side, then began walking in that direction. It took Dusk a moment to figure out that he was walking alone. "Dawn?" He asked curiously, chasing after her.

"...That's it, isn't it, Umbreon?"

"Looks that way."

In the far-off distance, they could see a towering mountain. Given the size of it at such a distance, neither of the two Trainers wanted to imagine standing directly below it, much less climb it.

"Better not look at it too long. You'll be seeing it for half the day tomorrow...might as well not get too used to the sights." Dusk began walking off, but stopped when Dawn didn't follow him.

Her head was low, and her shoulders sporadically jumped up and down.

"Dawn? Are you crying?"

"...Hey, U-Umbreon?..." Her voice answered Dusk's question. "If you...don't mind, could I, maybe..."

Dusk turned his gaze back to the mountain quickly before looking back at Dawn. "...Sure. I'll be at the Center if you need me."

Dawn heard his running shoes sprint away, which cued her to walk in further until she got to a tree. She leaned on the side of it, allowing herself a still-good view of the mountain, then searched inside her handbag. She finally pulled a Pokéball out and allowed it to open.

"...Misdreavus?"

Dawn reached for the Pokémon and held her around her waist. She was beginning to get used to having Berlitz so close. Her head turned to the twilight sky above. "Berlitz...Do you think Ashley's up there right now? Looking down at us?"

---------------------------

The clock turned all the way from 20:32 to 22:01 by the time the Pokémon Center doors opened up with Dawn on the other side of them. Berlitz was still being held to her stomach. Dawn sighed, then stepped into the room. The lobby was completely empty except for something that almost made Dawn laugh--Wizard was sleeping in one of the chairs.

"_Old habits die hard, don't they?_"

She took the seat next to him and sighed again. She knew she couldn't face Dusk until she had calmed down from the crying she had just gone through, so she decided on resting in the lobby for awhile.

"Misdrea...vus?"

"That's Wizard," Dawn whispered back. "He's Umbreon's Pokémon."

"Dreavus, Mis, Misdreavus..."

Dawn giggled. "I...guess so. I don't know, I guess I usually don't pay much attention to him when he's sleeping. Why?"

"Vus!" She turned around in Dawn's arms and buried herself into her new Trainer's shirt.

Dawn, however, pulled her out, allowing her to look into the Ghost-type Pokémon's face. Her eyes were shut as tightly as she could get them. "...You have a crush on Wizard, don't you?"

-----------------------------

"There you are. I was starting to get worried."

After some time to herself, Dawn had finally worked up enough courage to walk into the bedroom. Dusk was laying on the top bunk, as usual. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you...I guess I did stay out a little later then I thought. Sorry, Mom."

Dusk rolled around, turning towards the wall. "You just watch yourself, young woman. Don't make me ground you."

"Any particular reason Wizard's sleeping out in the lobby, by the way?"

"Can't say that I know myself."

"Maybe Wizard couldn't sleep in here because he sensed how tense you were about tomorrow, so he'd have trouble getting to sleep..." Her eyes turned to a crack on the left-hand wall. "Pokémon have the ability to sense what their Trainer's feeling, you know..."

Dusk turned back around and shot a confused expression at Dawn, forcing her to laugh.

"I'm sorry, Umbreon...I've just had a lot of time to think tonight, that's all." She walked over to the bottom bunk and let Berlitz roam freely while she combed her hair with her brush.

"Dawn, I have to be honest. Ever since you and I started traveling together, it's weird getting called 'Umbreon' again. It feels more like Dusk is my actual name."

"Well, with Brendan and May not knowing that it wasn't your real name for almost half the days we've known each other, I guess that's to be expected. Do you want me to start calling you Dusk more often?" she asked, plowing through a tangled knot in her hair.

"I was actually just wondering why you ever stopped."

"Er...you know...I was fine calling you Dusk when we were just friends, but now that you're my boyfriend, it's just kinda...weird calling you by a nickname, you know?"

Dusk chuckled, returning to his wall. "Truth is, I'm starting to like your nickname. Does that make me a bad boyfriend?"

"Er...! No, but..."

"Misdrea, Misdreavus, mis?" she wondered.

"Y-yeah, I know...I know I shouldn't, I'm just not used to it yet!"

Dusk smiled, making sure to keep it to himself. "_She can seriously understand that thing_..." He finally snuggled into his pillow. "Used to what? What did she say?"

"What?!" In surprise that she had been paid attention to, Dawn slammed her head into the bottom of the top bunk.

Dusk cringed. "You...all right?"

"Ow...Yeah, yeah..." She rubbed her head. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go take a shower before I go to bed...Maybe it'll help with this headache. Ugh..." She set her brush on the bed and walked towards the bathroom door.

"...'If I don't mind'?" Dusk echoed, unsure of why his permission was needed.

The question oddly went without an answer. Though she must have heard him, Dawn didn't speak a word before slipping into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

"Mis...dr--" the Pokémon gulped, then disappeared.

-----------------------

A room over, the Hoenn Trainers were also in the beds. Their attempt to get to sleep had failed.

"Brendan, I...need to tell you something."

"Something wrong?"

"I don't really want to mention it, because I'm sure it's nothing." May rolled over on her opposite side. "But...when we were in that Town back there, I...I think I fainted..."

"What?" Brendan shot back sternly.

"It was so weird, Brendan...I heard somebody say something, then all of a sudden, I regained consciousness, and could remember more of my past. That's why I could remember that train..."

"You heard a voice...?" Brendan said out loud, not meaning it as a real question. "Who was with you at the time?"

May flipped back over to where she had been originally, feeling uneasy now that she knew how seriously Brendan was taking the subject. "Just the boy, I think...But it wasn't his voice. It kind of sounded...something like a baby, or something."

"What did it say?" Brendan was glad that May was explaining this to him, though he was somewhat afraid that she had slipped into one of her trances again.

"It sounded like 'Ewm, ewm!' or something...I'm sorry Brendan, I really don't know..."

"Don't apologize, May! The important thing is that you're all right now. Let's try to get some sleep, and we'll figure this out in the morning, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed and closed her eyes. "Good night."

_"...'Ewm ewm,' huh? Safe to say that wasn't very natural. I'll also go ahead and assume that May's right in her guess about that sound and her memory coming back being connected somehow. If Dusk was there, did he hear it too? He din't tell me anything about it...Gah. Yeah, right. First person who tells me how to get to sleep now gets a free cracker, straight from the Jubilife Pokémon Center_..." He sighed and closed his eyes. He didn't figure it would get him far, but he was forced to atleast try to go to sleep.

-----------------------

"Misdreavus? Misdrea--"

"What?! Berlitz, what are you doing in here?!"

Berlitz had appeared inside the shower. That wouldn't have been a problem, had Dawn not still been in it.

"Dreavus, Misdreavus, Misdrea Misdreavus!" she whined.

"...This is so far past embarrassing..." Dawn moaned to herself, using a thin washcloth and her other hand to hide what little of herself that she could. "Uhm...Look, Berlitz, could you wait outside for me? I promise that I'll help you then, okay?"

The door opened, causing Dawn to jump. "Dawn? You all right?"

Dawn jumped. The vulnerable woman knew that, while it made it blurry, the shower curtain didn't fully block her from outside view. "Don't you **dare** walk through that door, Umbreon!!" she retaliated loudly.

"Just heard talking, that's all," Dusk casually defended himself as he started shutting the door.

"Wait, Umbreon!" Dawn's call made him momentarily stop. "Uhm, Berlitz? I'm begging you to please just stay with Umbreon for another five minutes, and I'll be right out!"

"Misdreavus..." The Pokémon's head sank as she slowly floated out of the bathtub and through the door.

Everybody finally having left, Dawn shuddered. "_Did you __**train**__ her to do that, Ashley?!_"

Three minutes passed--Dawn didn't dare to wait any longer. She stepped out of the bathroom with her face still a little red. Her hair was soaked for the most part. "Is that what I get for always announcing that I'm going in for a shower?"

Dusk was still laying on the top bunk, arms behind his head, and without a prayer of getting to sleep. "Got to admit, you had it coming sometime."

Dawn could hear that the boy wasn't alone. Faint, but cute breathing was heard clearly on the opposite side of him. "Oh, you got Wizard, huh?"

"Yeah. Guess you were wrong about the tension thing. He's been sleeping like a rock for the past fifteen minutes."

Dawn rubbed the arm with the cast using her opposite hand. Her eyes worriedly turned back to the same crack in the wall that she had stared at earlier. "I really need to find Berlitz..."

"Remember, Damia, it would be nice if you got some sleep tonight."

"The more you tell me that, the harder it's going to be..." With her words said, she exited the room somewhat hastily.

"_Damia...I wonder what that name means_." Dusk rolled over and slowly stroked Wizard, hoping the repetitive motion would lull him to sleep.

Dawn's search was anything but dramatic. Having a slight inkling of where the ghost had gone to, Dawn went on to find Berlitz in the lobby, specifically in the same chair Wizard had been in. Her eyes were saddened, which drove enough guilt into her Trainer that the human forgot about how mad she was. "Aw, Berlitz...What's wrong?"

"Misdrea, Misdreavus mis mis Misdreavus..." she muttered out.

"No, don't." Dawn took a seat next to her. "It was an accident, that's all. Just don't do it again!"

"Misdrea, vus."

"Ashley, you...I mean...Really?" Dawn blinked, but shook the thought out of her mind. "Anyway, what's really wrong?"

"Dreavus!"

Dawn chewed on the side of her lip before responding. "...I'm sorry Berlitz, but Wizard is kind of...taken."

"Mis...Misdreavus?"

"It's okay..." Dawn hugged her Pokémon, bringing the ghoul's strange body up to her neck. "You and Wizard can still be great friend--"

"MISDREAVUS!!" she screamed, creating an intense echo through the entire lobby. The reverberating sound was almost as loud as the shout itself.

With Berlitz being right next to her ear, Dawn took a large, indirect hit by the sudden wail. "...Now I know why you're a Screech Pokémon..." she observed out loud after her ears stopped ringing. "Uhm, look, Berlitz, it's really okay! I know you had a crush on Wizard, but it'll pass, and you'll feel a lot better then. Just try to put it out of your mind for tonight, okay?"

"Mis..."

"I know that it must hurt...But, Berlitz, for the first time in almost three months, atleast we have each other, right? I mean, that's a lot more than either of us could've said just yesterday..."

"...Dreavus, Mis, Misdreavus, Mis."

"No, I'm not. I'm going to stay right here until you feel better, even if that means all night."

And that she did, for a few hours. Finally, the side door opened up. The person on the other side smiled, seeing the two sleeping as peacefully as possible while sitting in a chair. He walked over and picked Dawn up using the arms that she loved to have around her so much. Being so tired, she didn't even wake up because of it. He carried them back into a room, and quietly laid them down on the bottom bed. Through the entire night, Dawn's hold of Berlitz never faltered, even while she wasn't conscious.

Morning rose. Dawn had an exceedingly hard time getting her eyes to open. When they did, they were full of hurt and confusion.

Dusk, who was leaning on a wall, waiting for her to wake up, noticed that something wasn't right. "Dawn? What's wrong?"

Dawn noticed that Berlitz was still sleeping. Instead of awakening her, she was recalled into her Pokéball. "Umbreon, it was terrible...I had a nightmare."

Dusk jumped up on the edge of his bed, where his backpack was laying, and began sifting through a certain department. "You want to talk about it?"

"No...You'd probably just think I'm stupid." Dawn rubbed her eyes with one hand while she searched for her bandana with the other.

"Aren't we past the hiding-things-from-each-other stage?" Umbreon asked, having trouble finding what he was looking for.

Dawn sighed. Sensing the question as rhetoric, she felt a little forced to confess. "I was...trapped, in the Pokémon Center. I don't think it was this one, though. It almost looked more like Jubilife's. A-anyway, nobody else was in the building, and the power was out again...and when I turned around, it was like I saw...myself, or something."

Dusk finally grabbed a hold of an object in the backpack and took it out, but did nothing with it after that. He sat still, not even bothering to zip the compartment of his backpack up. "So it was like a...revelation, or something?"

"No, I meant...There was literally somebody in front of me that looked almost exactly like me, except her clothes were changed a little..." Dawn finished, simultaneously creating the last knot in the bandana that she had thrown over her head.

"Was it your sister? Maybe seeing Berlitz--"

"My sister had short, brown hair, Umbreon," Dawn smirked. "A-anyway, it was just stupid. I shouldn't have even wasted the time explaining it."

"I'd much rather have 'wasted time' listening than wondering what was wrong," he explained, even using air quotes in their respective places.

Dawn smiled. "Yeah, I know..."

Dusk dully picked the item that he was still holding on to. "You know, I've been meaning to fill in one last plot hole. That house you were looking at way back in Sandgem...Was that yours?"

"Mm...Good guess, Umbreon. That tall tree next to it is so important to me...That's actually what I was looking at. Not the house. Time to fill my own plot hole...How did I possibly end up in this room?"

Umbreon chuckled before responding. "That boyfriend guy of yours didn't really want you sleeping in a chair through the night, so I guess he carried you all the way in here himself."

"_You...carried me_.._.?_" Dawn thought in admiration. She wrapped her arms around her own body in the strange wish that she could still feel his touch.

"He also told me to give you this, since it must have dropped accidentally." Dusk jumped down from the bed and finally handed off what he had been holding.

She looked at it blankly for a moment before realizing what it was. "Isn't this Berlitz's necklace?"

"I think so."

"Oh..." Dawn slipped it into her handbag. "I'll just set it in here for now, then. Tell my boyfriend that I said thanks."

"Will do," Dusk said with a smile. "We should get out of here. I didn't like Wizard's tone when he said that he wanted to see Torchic again." The confident Trainer equipped his backpack and opened the door. He turned back around to see that Dawn wasn't moving.

"Umbreon, I...I'm scared."

Dusk pushed the door, causing it to shut again. He had a feeling that this was going to take a little while. "Oh? About what?"

"...What?"

"What are you sc--"

"Oh! N-nothing! I don't even know why I said that." Dawn cheerfully hopped off the bed and headed for the door. "Let's go find the other two."

When she was nearly to him, Dusk ran up and hugged Dawn. She was too surprised to return it. "Dawn...We will win."

She was slowly starting to make the situation out. "...Y-yeah...I know."

"I know that having an item of yours calms me down...so let's see if that works the other way." Dusk backed away and unstrapped his right-hand glove. He showed no hesitance while extending his arm, and gift, towards her.

"Umbreon, you really don't have to..." she pleaded, in spite of staring at the black glove lustfully.

"I was going to give you the beret, but then you'd be lying to Wizard about you never wearing them, so I figured the glove would have to do."

The girl grabbed the present, though she masked excitement with boredom. She swung the object through the air like a broken toy. "Thing is, if I accept this, what am I going to do when I get another knife shot at me?"

"Dawn, you know that I'd still protect you..."

"...Thank you, Umbreon." Dawn smiled as she equipped the single glove. "And here. It's my turn now." She picked her bandana right off of her head and handed it to Dusk.

Dusk played the same game that Dawn was, feigning carelessness instead of expressing his actual gratitude. He beat the cloth against the air multiple times, forcing the knot to become undone. "...Sorry, but truth be told, this isn't really my color..."

"I'm not expecting you to wear it!" Dawn shouted back, thinking it had been obvious. "Just keep it in your pocket or something."

"Thanks," he eventually said with a genuine smile.

"But, Umbreon, I know that...I need to be honest. Uhm..." She turned around and walked a couple steps in that direction. "Honestly...Team Galactic isn't what I'm worried about right now."

Dusk pondered the topic for a moment, swaying his head around while thinking. He finally came up with the best reply that he could. "Dawn, I know that his last Trainer was whack, but Wizard still has decent morals. I don't think he would do that to Torchic so soon."

"No, it's not that either! I actually just can't stop thinking about that...dream that I had," she confessed nervously.

Dusk folded his arms, though he felt no impatience about what they were talking about. "It was just a dream. It doesn't mean anything."

"...I-I know. Now I'm just being an air head. I'm sorry. Let's just leave." The way that Dusk had responded made Dawn think that he didn't care about the subject anymore. She failed at trying to force a smile while twirling around, facing Umbreon.

Dusk stepped forward and put his hand on Dawn's shoulder. She watched his hand in surprise while he managed to verbally nail something that she wished he hadn't. "Why do I have this feeling that there was more to this nightmare than what you're telling me?"

Letting his words sink in, Dawn's eyes mirrored her change from surprise to sadness. They still didn't lift away from his hand, however. "Because...there kind of was. My shadow and I weren't the only ones in the Pokémon Center..."

"Oh?" he returned, interested by this point.

"Yeah...My arm was bleeding heavily, and...you were next to the other me..." Stronger tears developed in her eyes with each passing word. "You had...a gun in your hand..."

"...What?" Dusk asked incredulously.

"I don't know!" Dawn blurted out, expertly repressing her sub-conscious wish to cry. "I mean, it's not that I don't trust you anymore because of some stupid dream...I just...kinda wish I knew where it came from, that's all..."

"Dawn, I don't need to say that I'd never purposely shoot you..."

Dawn choked. Her eyelids slammed shut, absolutely determined to not let Dusk see a single one of her tears. "You were smiling, Umbreon..."

Dusk bit his lip. "_She might be taking this dream a bit more seriously than what she suggests.._."

"I can't believe that I'm letting this take over me..." Water droplets slowly escaped from her eyes. She kept her goal alive by lunging forward, burrowing her tear ducts into Dusk's shoulder. Since the moment didn't seem right without it, Dawn took the liberty of hugging Dusk tightly with both arms. "You didn't shoot me...You couldn't...You wouldn't!"

"No, I wouldn't..." he agreed, softly stroking her back.

"I can't believe I'd ever think that you would...I sorta know how May feels now..." Dawn sobbed. "Wanting to trust her friends, but can't..."

"So you don't actually trust me?"

"...And I want to kill myself because of it, Umbreon..." Instead of straight down, her head turned to one side of his shirt. "Thinking about you killing me wasn't how I wanted this day to start..."

"Thinking about how I killed you without knowing it is even worse," Dusk added.

Dawn suddenly backed away. "No...Maybe...this is the reason I had that nightmare in the first place. You...being mad at me, for what I did to you in Celestic Town..."

"You're still on that?!" Dusk retorted, not bothering to hide his anger. "I told you that I don't care!"

Dawn's head fell. "_I think this is where I'd storm out of the room and get advice from May_...Umbreon, I-I'm sorry...I just have to leave right now." She stepped past him and walked out the door, habitually shutting it behind her.

Dusk followed her up to the door, stopping when it got slammed in his face. He rested both arms on it and breathed a heavy sigh. The hand that was still holding Dawn's bandana increased its grip greatly. "Sure, but if it was Wizard holding the gun, it would've been **so cute**," he hissed out loud.

He pounded on the door and growled before finally reaching for the knob. He yanked the hinged wood open and walked through, not caring enough to shut it. While on his way to the cafeteria, Dusk slipped his friend's bandana into his backpack.

After a short trip, he entered the room to see a surprisingly high amount of people inside. Most were sitting down, enjoying their breakfast. He spotted May and Brendan, coupled with Wizard and Torchic, enjoying each other's company on one table. In the far corner of the room, Dawn was sitting by herself.

He walked over to her and quickly noticed she barely had any food on her tray at all. A small, red apple and a medium-sized glass of orange juice next to it were the only things there. She wasn't even showing signs that she cared about what little food she did have. "Dawn?"

"...Oh! Hey, Umbreon," she said, somehow sounding energetic. "You can go sit with May and Brendan, if you want. I was just, uhm..."

Dusk waited for the continuation. It wasn't fortunate for Dawn, who was counting on being interrupted.

"Uh...Well, I guess I just didn't feel like being around them right now, that's all."

"I don't plan on going anywhere. Not until we finish our earlier conversation, anyway." He took a seat on the bench next to her.

"There's nothing to talk about..." She began swirling her orange juice around with the straw that was inside of it. "I just cried about some stupid thing that didn't even matter five minutes later. It's not like I don't do that every other day."

"You can't seriously tell me that you're feeling better."

"If I can't tell you seriously, would you take a joking response?" Dawn inhaled a small portion of her beverage through the straw. "Or a sarcastic one?"

Dusk rested his elbows on the table and clamped his hands together. One hand being without a glove was an odd feeling, but not what he had on his mind. "...Why do you like me?"

"Because you forgive me when I do really stupid, unexplainable stuff," Dawn replied quickly, now observing the apple.

"Er..." Dusk muttered back, startled that a reply had come so quickly. "Do you hate me for anything?"

"...Well..." She thought for a moment. "...The beret thing's kinda weird."

"Please, Dawn?" he begged.

"What's it matter?"

"Because I'm going to find out why you had that nightmare last night!"

Dawn glanced over at him. "...What?"

"Just...answer my question."

"I can't, because I don't hate you," she responded easily, turning her head back to the apple.

He was beginning to get annoyed. "Dawn..."

"You looked at me, all right?!" Dawn finally snapped, shutting her eyes to block tears that she'd been hiding.

Looking at the corner of the table, Dusk blinked twice. "What?"

"Last night, I just couldn't stop thinking about how you opened that door when I was in the shower..." After finding out that twirling the apple on the table helps to divert her own attention away from the subject, she greedily abused it. "I couldn't help but wonder if you would have done that if it was Brendan or something..."

"Dawn, I never actually went into the room..."

"But you got a lot closer than if you had just knocked or something!" Her doused eyes turned from the fruit to the glove that Dusk had given her. "...And I hate myself for it..."

The last addition to Dawn's rant was what confused Dusk the most. "...What?"

"Umbreon, I know that you're a teenage boy, but I know that you wouldn't purposely look at me like that...And now I hate myself because, for some reason, I can't actually believe what I just said. Now I got you worried about me, I'm not sitting with my friends, and sub-consciously, I don't trust you. Perfect. Everything's my fault." Dawn picked up the apple and hurled it into the wall, creating a loud thumping noise. Strangely, not many heard it. Her arms folded across the table as she set her head on top of them.

"No, let's not go back to the 'everything is your fault.' That isn't--"

"I killed my sister, Umbreon!" Dawn's head was quickly picked back up, allowing herself to shoot a cold glance at Dusk. "I killed my sister. I saw that car coming ahead of time. I had plenty of time to shove her out of the way, and maybe even get out of it myself. And what did I do? I just stood there like an idiot, watching in horror as my sister got bowled over! That same exact thing happened back in Veilstone. I could have ducked under that knife, Umbreon. No, instead, I thought it'd be so much more fun to risk your hand to save me."

Dusk's mouth dropped open in pure awe. "...Dawn..."

"Here's a part of the story you didn't know. The disease that my mother had? I gave it to her. It was me that was dying because of it, and while she was nursing me back to health, she caught it herself. Instead of helping her like she helped me, what did I manage to do? Stand at her bedside and watch her slowly die. Umbreon...it's because of me that the life I have now sucks so much. Things could have been the same that they were two years ago. Right now, my sister and I could've been watching a movie together. Or I could be accidentally burning Momma's cookies because I left them in the oven too long! I don't care what I'd be doing right now, I just know that I'd be doing it with my family..."

"_Is this...what she thinks about everyday?_"

"Whenever I think of how much your mother cried when you were leaving, I wonder...what Momma would have thought about me leaving."

Dusk gulped. "I think--"

"This Pokémon!" Dawn lifted up the only green Pokéball that she owned. "This Pokémon shouldn't be mine. I should never have been able to capture it in this ball, because it should have never left its first one!" By the time her sentence was through, her hands were clenched, her face was red, and her breaths were rapid. Though she had never hyperventilated before, she knew what the cure was. "...I-I need air." She got out of the bench and walked out the exit, completely ignoring the juice that remained on the table, not to mention the boy.

At first, Dusk was going to take her orange juice and go over to the Hoenn Trainers for some advice. Two hands being placed on his shoulders, however, stopped him.

"Hey, there!" a far-too-peppy voice shouted in Umbreon's ear, "Great to see you back! Going to tear the stage apart again tonight?"

Dusk turned his head back. "Oh, h-hi, doctor...Hey, listen, before was actually a mistake. My friend--"

"I hope so," the male doctor interrupted, completely ignoring Umbreon, much to his frustration. "That's actually why there's so many people here. You should have heard the buzz after you two got done last week."

He grew a wry smile. "_In a single night, I've become a legend at something I never wanted to participate in. Nor do I still want to._"

"Either way, I'm expecting you back here two weeks from now. That's when there's prizes--Oh!" The odd man left Dusk alone, dashing away to mingle with other guests. "How've you been?" Dusk heard him say to somebody.

Finally in solitary, Dusk sighed. "_That...was kinda weird_." He ignored the straw and put his lips directly on the glass, taking a large sip of Dawn's orange juice.

-------------------------------

Dawn tortured both herself and the tree by smashing it with her left-handed fist. "_Why am I such a freakin' idiot?!_ _Roark's right, I am a freakin' crybaby.._."

She had found the same tree she was at the night before, which was looking at Mount Coronet.

"_Can't believe it_..." She pulled her fist back and looked at it. It was red from hitting the tree bark, satisfying her self-loathing. "_Why? Why does every freakin' thing I think about get hurt somehow?!_"

"You know, they say that for every time you punch a tree, you lose an hour of your life."

Dawn jumped, understandably startled by the familiar, yet sudden voice from the opposite side of the tree. "What?!"

Dignifying the cockiness, Brendan stepped out to Dawn's side. "Or is that punching cattle...Same difference."

"What are you doing here?" Dawn cursed, annoyed that she had been stalked.

"May saw you storm off, and I knew that she couldn't help you much, so I figured I'd give myself a little screen time."

"Well, unless you brought a dish to pass, you can't stay at my pity party." Despite Brendan's warning, Dawn struck the tree one more time.

"You want to break your other hand to?" he wondered.

"Oh, who cares...Just throw it on the list of things that suck."

Brendan cleared his throat, afraid to say his own sentence. "Dawn, I know that it's a break from our usual Chuck Norris jokes, but I really want to help you here."

"Brendan..." For the first time in a few days, Dawn released Charmy from his Pokéball. She picked him up into her arms as he chirped in cheerfulness. "This is my first Pokémon." Holding Charmy up with one hand, she reached for another Pokéball, this time, releasing Berlitz. "So why do I have my sister's first Pokémon, too?"

Charmy spotted Berlitz, causing him to blush slightly. "...Piplup, Piplup..."

She turned away, closing her eyes obnoxiously. "Misdrea."

Charmy's head sank. "...Pip..."

"Yeah, somehow I kinda figured this would come up eventually..." Brendan walked towards his hurting friend. Understanding the penguin's disappointment in being shut down by Berlitz, the Hoenn Trainer lifted his hand up and roughly rubbed Charmy's head. The gesture cheered Charmy up, though he faked sadness so Brendan wouldn't stop. "Look, Dawn. I couldn't possibly imagine how rough life's been to you. But the thing is, you can't live in the past, either. Cliché 46, 77, then 19 follow."

Dawn smiled. "I want you...to go back and tell Umbreon that I'm fine, would you? Knowing him, he's probably all worked up about me storming off like that."

"And you hate him for being a friend?"

She didn't reply.

Brendan sighed as he turned around to give Dawn his back, much to Charmy's dismay. "I didn't want to tell you this yet, nor was I planning on telling you here, but...The Chatot Express is leaving tomorrow."

Dawn's eyes enlarged.

"After we finish up at Coronet, we'll enjoy the rest of the day here, then May and I are going to set off for Hoenn sometime tomorrow morning, or maybe even late tonight. Sorry, Dawn."

Her head sank as her fist became an even deeper red from being clenched so hard.

Brendan laughed. "Boy, this is a really strange way to start the morning off, isn't it? But before I forget, I was going somewhere with that, Dawn..." He turned back around. "May and I are leaving. That other weird kid that keeps following us around isn't."

Dawn smiled, but still couldn't react to that otherwise.

"And I know for a fact that he wants to crash every single pity party you throw."

Dawn hugged Brendan, feeling it was moments before she started crying once more. "...I hurt Umbreon..."

"No, you didn't."

"Back in Celestic Town--"

"I don't really give a Hoothoot where it happened," Brendan cut in. "I'm like a brother to that boy, and I'll be the one to tell you that you don't hurt that man easily, Dawn. He's a forgiving person, and considering he's letting you live at his crib, I'd say he doesn't have much against you."

Dawn said nothing for a moment. It took her that long to figure out what "crib" meant. "Brendan, you're the only one who'll answer me honestly...Am I annoying? I mean, because I cry so much?"

"Yes, you are. See, you need to be more like me."

Dawn laughed, snuggling into Brendan's cheap-feeling shirt. "This will be good," she bet, the sound of crying barely even reaching her voice anymore.

"Live life having a good time until you screw something up. Then buy flowers, give them to your girlfriend, and everything's usually better." He grew a wide grin when Dawn started laughing harder. "Then just start from the top!"

"Brendan, that's a typical guy, not just you..."

"See? There you go, then. You need to be more like a guy."

Dawn pulled away from the hug, still roaring in laughter. She turned her back to Brendan so he couldn't see her rubbing her eyes of the few remaining tears.

"I recommend shaving less, and maybe taking a few steroids to get your voice deeper. Other than that, you're pretty good to go!"

"You know..." Dawn spun around, smiling at Brendan while not being ashamed of her bloodshot eyes. "I love that Umbreon really listens to me and helps me with any problem I can come up with...But I have to admit that I'll miss your stand-up comedian approach to things, too."

"Don't worry about it. I'll give him some of my material before we leave. And if that doesn't make you feel better, we already got all our farewell gifts all set up."

"Brendan?" Dawn raised an eyebrow. "You don't need to give us anything..."

"See, here's the beauty of it. The more stuff we give you, the more obligated you'll feel to allow me to see a new Corvette in my driveway when I get back to Hoenn."

The girl laughed for another time. "You're a Trainer, how are you supposed to take a car with you?"

"...All right! All right. Fair enough. How about a couple ATVs, then?"

Dawn pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'll miss you, Brendan..."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Brendan countered quickly. "All that crap comes later. We got an entire day ahead of us, and we ain't got time to think about that right now. Let's head back and find the other two, then finally get this party started, eh?"

Before they could move, however, Dusk and May were walking towards them. Wizard was content on his Trainer's shoulder, though he'd much rather be on May's, where a certain Torchic was perched.

Team Missile agreed with each other as Dusk recapped their plan, and they set off immediately. Besides Dusk confirming that Dawn felt better about herself, the entire trip was silent--everybody was too excited and focused on what laid ahead to talk about anything. Charmy would occasionally sigh and mutter something under his breath, though it was low in volume, so nobody heard it.

Brendan estimated that they were a short hour from reaching the true target that they've searched for so long: Mount Coronet.


	21. Climbing Coronet

Three hours passed until they were finally near the base of the mountain.

Dawn's shoulders sagged. "Brendan, even with your flawless estimations, please don't tell us how long it's going to take to do this..."

"Hey, I was closer than I was last time!" Brendan defended. "Atleast we got here on the same day."

"HEY!!" The blond, mysterious boy dashed at them, as usual, at an amazing rate of speed. "What took you guys?! I was waiting here for, like, ever! Haha! Anyway, so who are you two? Oh, you must be the two that I passed back at the door when we were in Eterna! So how are you? I'm Jun, nice to meetcha! Who are you?"

Before Brendan could do anything more than get his mouth open, Jun continued. "Oh! That's right! Dawn, might have a slight problem with our plan. I think Umbreon's sick or something. But that's okay! That's okay. I got some backup from the good ol' Professor! Man, that guy's nice. He doesn't talk much, though. And he doesn't run very fast. Anyway, I don't know what we're all waiting out here for! Dusk, you're going through the inside of the mountain, right? Great! The entrance is over there! Dawn, I got all the equipment for us, and I think you're going to love it! It really is a blast climbing up mountains. Generally, I just go up them with nothin' but my hands, but I'll use equipment this time! Not a problem at all! Nope!"

"Boy, you're a perky one, Jun!" Brendan complimented.

"Haha! Yeah, I know. Anyway, we really need to get going! Don't want the world to accidentally blow up or anything, am I right? I couldn't blame it if it did, though. Having to house creeps like Team Galactic would make me explode too! Let's get 'em! Yeah, let's tear 'em apart! C'mon, Wizard, let's go! You're coming with me up the mountain! No? Oh, okay. Anyway, c'mon, let's go!" Jun ran closer to the base of the mountain.

Dusk wore the same confused expression he always had after a greeting with Jun. May shared it. "Uhm...Damia...are you sure he's...safe to be around?" the latter person wondered.

Dawn laughed. "You might not recognize it at first, but he really is a great friend. Anyway, you three should probably start heading into the mountain. I guess I'll, uhm...go find Jun..."

May hugged the girl. "Good luck, Damia."

"Thank you, May..."

Brendan was next in hugging her. "You watch yourself, all right?"

"I will, Brendan..." Dawn, however, was the first to hug Dusk. "Don't get yourself killed in the mountain, Umbreon."

"Don't get yourself killed on the mountain," Dusk quickly replied.

Dawn began running off, but looked back one more time. "And my bandana better not get dirty either, Umbreon!" Much more nervously than she wanted it to look like, she turned around and continued running after Jun. "_I will be okay...won't I?_" Her head lowered as a small smile crept on her face. "_Best case scenario, I get to see all my friends again...Worst case scenario, I get to see my family again...I guess I could do worse than that_."

"I hope she'll be okay..." May thought out loud, watching Dawn's midnight-blue hair dance around her shoulders as she disappeared from view.

"She'll be fine," Brendan reassured. "Right now, I think we got our own problems to worry about."

Dusk started walking off in the direction Jun had pointed to before. He also began petting Wizard, hoping it'd help him to relax. "I checked it out on the computer...before somebody thought it'd be hilarious to tamper with the power...and it said that Mount Coronet has three different caves. When we exit one, we'll come out on a platform for awhile. Apparently, the platforms have the next cave on them somewhere, too."

Brendan inhaled a deep breath of fresh air, knowing that they would lose that air when they stepped into the mountain. "Good. I was worried that it wouldn't be confusing."

The terrain began to get rocky as they neared the entrance to Mount Coronet. May nearly fell a few times, but the boys managed to catch her. Torchic eventually found it safer to travel around with Brendan instead, and hopped over to his shoulder.

They finally entered the massive cave, which was somehow bright inside. There wasn't much detail--Branching paths were offset by the fact that they all winded up in the same place. One of the ways had a pond of water to cross, though it was pointless when an alternate route could be taken.

Without a word, Dusk cracked his knuckles. May held onto Brendan's arm, who was standing prepared. "We're gonna have to expect that there's some wild Pokémon in here," he warned.

"There better be." Dusk took his first step deeper into the cave. "There's something I want to do, and they're going to help me."

Brendan and May looked at each other. They were curious of what he was talking about, but the tone of his voice was enough to off-put them from asking. Instead, they obediently followed.

"Pika pika, Pikachu?" Wizard moaned worriedly.

"Try to relax. Think about how great it'll be when we can finally get out of this mount--" Dusk stopped abruptly.

"Du--" Brendan couldn't get anymore than that out before an index finger was pointed into the air, obliging him to shush.

Dusk closed his eyes and began concentrating. "_It's traveling underground...Donphan. No, it's bigger than that. Not Graveler. It's moving too slow. Steel--_"

A massive beast surged out from the underground with a loud roar, forcing the unprepared Hoenn Trainers to practically jump. Dusk, however, stood unaffected. "Good. Since you're a Steel-type, this'll be even easier. Moonite, let's burn it to the ground!" He shot a Pokéball spinning through the air, releasing his second Fire-type Pokémon.

"..._Moonite?_" May pondered, her heart still racing from the surprise attack.

"Quil! Quilava, Quil!" Moonite announced prior to opening his mouth, letting loose an intense heat wave directly at Steelix.

The scorched Pokémon shook the flames off of its body and dug underground.

"Is it...gone?" May asked worriedly.

"Moonite..." Dusk closed his eyes once more. "Twenty degrees northwest, three degrees west...Four seconds. Aim at the floor and fire."

Brendan blinked. "_Wh...What the_..."

Moonite jumped into the position he was told and patiently waited, wasting the time away by charging up another grand Flamethrower attack. When the four seconds passed, Moonite turned his head to the floor and hesitated for just one more moment.

Steelix came burrowing out of the ground, though it couldn't reach Moonite. The second that Steelix poked itself above ground, Moonite let loose even more flames, torching the iron snake's head before its attack could connect. Unable to stand the concentrated warmth, it fell back down into the hole.

"Use Sand Attack to give this thing a proper burial," Dusk ordered.

Moonite cracked a smile as he began kicking dirt back into the two holes that Steelix had created. He was panting heavily by the time he had finished covering the deep trenches.

"Great job." Dusk recalled his Pokémon, then continued walking through the cave, seemingly forgetting the Hoenn Trainers were even there.

"_Incredible...I've never seen him fight like that_," Brendan thought in awe.

Being a far enough distance away from him, May could safely talk about Dusk without him hearing it. She kept her voice low, just incase. "Brendan...How did Dusk know where that Steelix was? I don't remember anybody telling me he could do that..."

Brendan didn't think he could keep his voice low enough, so he didn't verbally reply. He shook his head, unsure of what else to do.

Time continued on, and the formations didn't change. Umbreon seemed satisfied that he was in the lead, even though nobody else was in talking range besides Wizard. The other two kept to the back, still holding one another for comfort. Though being uncharacteristically silent, Torchic was still on Brendan's shoulder.

Dusk eventually stopped at a wall. He turned around and waited for the other two to catch up. "We need to get up here," he explained plainly.

When the Hoenn Trainers looked up, they saw that it wasn't a wall. A platform was up there, though it was high up. Brendan whistled. "Man, I sure wish Hulk Hogan was here. He'd know what to do."

"Blaziken can jump thirty-story buildings..." Dusk thought out loud. "May, would she mind helping us get up there?"

"I...don't know..." May looked at Blaziken's Pokéball. "Last time I told it to do something--"

"May, that was different," Brendan interrupted. "She didn't want to do what you told her to last time because she knew it was wrong. It wasn't because she doesn't listen to you."

Dusk waited silently. At this moment, he didn't care what she had told the Pokémon to do last time.

May nodded. "Okay, I'll try."

"Torchic!" the daughter of the Pokémon agreed.

"Blaziken, will you help us get up this mountain?" May released her first Pokémon, only to still be intimidated by it. The loud roar that Blaziken habitually slipped out didn't help the situation, either. "Erm...if...you don't want to, that's okay, too..."

Brendan sighed. Dusk quickly looked at him, but he was hiding his emotions well.

"Blaze...ken!" she agreed. Fire suddenly erupted from her arms, highlighting her incredible strength.

May was nothing but further intimidated by the performance. She fell backwards and spider-crawled away a few paces.

Confused, Blaziken abruptly ended the show and turned to her daughter. "Blaziken?"

"Torchic...Torchic Torchic."

"Ken, Blaziken!"

"Tor..." Her head fell as a sigh escaped her.

"Pika, chu..." Wizard sighed as well. Seeing Torchic sad was enough to change his own mood.

"It's okay, May..." Brendan took both of her hands and got her to her feet. She had put almost no effort into rising up, so Brendan had to lift her weight by himself. "Blaziken's your Pokémon. She isn't going to hurt you."

"...A-all right...If you think so, Brendan..." May gulped and tried to remain confident. "Blaziken, please help get all of us up there!" she demanded, pointing to the destination.

Blaziken looked up for a second, then back at May. "Ken," she replied, nodding blandly. She turned her back to Brendan.

"Kinda funny..." He began climbing onto her back. "Believe it or not, I'm usually pretty picky about which women I get a ride from."

With Brendan safely secured, Blaziken grabbed her Trainer into her arms and leapt for the steep cliff above. A moment later, she jumped back down and picked Dusk up. Once again, she practically flew back up to the same platform. She looked back down at the ground. "Blaziken, Blaziken?"

"Pi Pikachu!" he shook his head. "Pika pika pi..."

"...Ken."

"Don't worry about it, Blaziken," Dusk randomly spoke up. "Dawn's just fine right outside."

May jerked her head to the Sinnoh Trainer. "You understood what Blaziken said?"

"I understood what Pikachu said." He smirked. "Kinda easy to tell what the conversation was about from there." To stop any farther idleness, Dusk continued the excavation exploration.

"...That boy...is he...?"

"Don't know, May. A little scared to find out, too."

May recalled Blaziken, then equipped her arms tightly to Brendan's arm again. She giggled, overjoyed that the young man didn't mind her constant clinging.

More empty life passed by. Dusk stayed in his secluded position while Brendan and May watched his back.

May stole a glance around all of her surroundings and sighed. She snuggled her bandana-coated head into Brendan's arm before saying anything. "Brendan..."

"Something wrong?"

"I don't know...It's just so boring in here. Rock wall after rock wall...We have to have been in here for half an hour by now, and it's just the same thing over and over again..."

Brendan fidgeted with his headband using the opposite hand that was holding May. "Well, we could spruce the place up. What do you think? Throw some posters over there, maybe? A lava lamp, perhaps?"

May laughed, and continued to do so as Brendan kept listing a series of ideas to overcome Mount Coronet's monotony. Neither realized that their leader had stopped walking until they nearly bumped into him.

His back was turned, which didn't help the Hoenn Trainers find out what his expression was. "Hey, Brendan, you ever hit the Game Corner?"

"Sure," he answered casually.

"Did you win anything?" Dusk continued.

"A much lighter backpack. Getting rid of all those coins really, uh...helped."

"Too bad. Something tells me that we're going to need luck for this part."

Ahead of them were three exits. They all led to an outside area, but without heading through all three, it wasn't possible to know which way would allow them to continue.

"...Only one's actually going to let us keep going," Dusk explained.

"Right. It's always right!" Brendan announced.

"Since you said right, does that mean we go left?"

Brendan heard May's teeth clench together as a small, angered growl escaped from her. He knew he had to act quickly before something happened. "It's not like you know which direction each is anyway, so who cares?" he countered, praying that May's tension would die out.

"How about we call a truce and head out the middle?" Dusk suggested, beginning to head in that direction before he could even get an answer.

"...May, it's just for fun. Calm down." Brendan ran a hand through May's hair, dodging the bandana. "Now is a horrible time to get angry at a teammate."

"I-I'm sorry, Brendan...I'll try to concentrate." May inhaled deeply. It helped her relax, though she still held anger toward Dusk for his remark.

The exit led to a platform. Even though they hadn't climbed too high yet, it was already slightly chilly outside. Well-trimmed grass laid about the area, but there didn't seem to be any way of continuing the mission from here.

"Don't think this is it," Dusk stated needlessly. "Let's try the right one. I think I see something over there." He turned back around and headed back for the cave.

"See? Shoulda listened to me from the start," Brendan bragged, doing the same.

May, however, didn't move.

Her modestly-called boyfriend looked back at her. "May? Are you coming?"

Without a word, she shook her head.

"What?!"

The commotion made Dusk stop and turn around, but he didn't say anything.

"May, how are we supposed to continue without you?!" Brendan pressed on harshly.

"Here," she said calmly, holding out a Pokéball. "You can take Blaziken with you, if you want."

"...Why can't we take you with us?" he asked, calming down. He made no grab for May's Pokéball.

May looked over her shoulder and into the amazing view of Eterna City that she had. "I just need to be here, Brendan."

Brendan looked back at Dusk, who gave him an unhelpful neutral expression in return. He sighed and looked back at May, hoping his depression didn't shine through much. "Fine. But I want you to be careful, all right? Don't go falling off this cliff."

"I won't," May smiled, her eyes still observing the view.

Brendan gave her a gentle kiss on the neck, then walked back to Dusk. They entered the mountain once more and headed for the right exit this time.

"What in Pete Samperass is going on here?!" Brendan virtually screamed. "How are we supposed to hike up this mountain without Blaziken's jumping power?"

"So why didn't you take her? May offered her Pokéball to you..."

"So what? When she gets attacked, a one-foot turtle can defend her?"

Dusk shrugged. "A three-foot mouse thing just defended me from a giant metal snake..."

Brendan turned his head to his side and spotted the still-quiet Torchic perched on his shoulder. He lifted his hand up to pet it, earning a grateful chirp in response. "Yeah, difference being, May hasn't said the word 'northwest' since she asked what it meant..."

"'Up' and 'left' probably work too," Dusk guessed.

"What was that about, anyway? I've never seen you battle like that."

"In my defense, you haven't really seen me battle..."

"You're really not going to tell me where that came from, eh?" inquired the older boy.

"Right now, I don't think that should be our prime concern."

In front of Brendan, a Graveler was inching closer, looking anything but peaceful. Brendan barred his teeth and jerked his head over his shoulder, where his eyes met with a wild Machoke's. It was creeping up on him in the same manner that the Graveler was.

Dusk used the low traction on his shoes to dramatically slide on the other side of Brendan, keeping his back protected. He enlarged Moonite's home. "Let's do this like Buddhists."

Brendan released Sceptile. "Sorry, Umbry. I was actually more of a Bonus Stage person than Homestar."

"Too bad." Moonite's Pokéball popped open, even though it was still in Dusk's hand. "Still a good choice, though."

While the Trainers continued with their conversation, Moonite enveloped himself in flames, then Tackled the Machoke to the ground. The combined power of the fire and the impact itself caused Machoke to flinch while it was sent flying backwards.

Sceptile ran up to his opponent with his tail glowing a bright green. He psyched the gullible Rock-type Pokémon out with a punch, then quickly followed up with his tail. The Grass-type attack was too strong for even the boulder to handle, causing it to be sent flying into the cave wall. The floor temporarily shook when the Graveler collided with the wall.

"Postage due, right, Sceptile?"

He looked back at his Trainer and smiled, finally having gained an opportunity to put a leak into his mouth.

"Let's give Dusk a hand! Use X-sci--"

Dusk held his arm out, stopping him. "No. Let me do this. Moonite, Quick Attack it!"

"Lava, Quilava!" Moonite dazed his target by circling around it a few times, and when he found the perfect opportunity, dashed in and nailed his foe with as strong a physical force as he could get. "Quil, Quilava, Quil lava!" Though he didn't receive an order, Moonite took advantage of the close range and unleashed blazing heat upon the Machoke.

The muscular Fighting-type was able to stand up from the attack. "Ma...choke!" it cried as it kicked Moonite back to his Trainer.

He slid at Dusk's feet. "Quilava..."

"Moonite's still tired from taking Steelix down!" Brendan shouted, annoyed, "Tag me already!"

Dusk's gloved hand clenched. "Moonite, Flare Blitz!"

Brendan folded his arms and only watched. "You're an idiot. Just as long as you know that."

Dusk ignored Brendan's comfort and allowed Moonite to continue with the attack.

At a slightly slower pace than usual, Moonite raced toward Machoke. His body began to get enveloped by his own fire yet again, but with a different effect than before. Rather than the fire being close to his body, it was giving Moonite a barrier, surrounding him on all sides for a few feet. The farther he ran, the bigger its range, and the more intense the flames were.

When he neared his foe, the tired, yet confident Quilava jumped for Machoke's stomach, ripping apart any chance the Fighting-type had of fighting back. After driving into it some more, Moonite's own power turned against him, and he was slapped backwards. Machoke didn't stand a chance, however, so Moonite wasn't in any immediate harm.

"Thanks anyway, Sceptile." Brendan recalled his Pokémon, then ran for Dusk, who was already over at Moonite's side.

"Here..." Dusk pulled out a blue bottle and sprayed its contents all over Moonite's body, paying careful attention not to get any in his eyes. "You should feel better in a minute now." He also recalled his Pokémon. He got back to his feet and put the bottle inside his backpack. "Hyper Potion. Don't leave home without it."

"You gonna be that reckless against Team Galactic?"

Dusk remained silent as he bypassed Brendan and continued for the right-hand exit.

"..._Ugh_..." Brendan followed, though he was reluctant in doing so.

Dusk stepped outside once more, reaching a platform that looked similar to the last one they were on. He glanced to his left, where he could see May staring out at Eterna City. Not wanting to draw much attention to her, he turned the other way to see a small cliff rising up out the ground. Looking past that, he spotted the next entrance. He began walking toward it, paying little attention to the footsteps coming up behind him.

"Yo, Umbry! Why are you so silent all of a sudden?" Brendan caught up to him. "If it's about what I said back there, I didn't mean it. I just--"

"It's not that," Dusk interrupted. "I got my mind on something else right now..."

"Worried about Dawn?"

Dusk didn't reply as he stepped up the small cliff.

"So I guess she gave you her bandana?" Brendan was hoping that changing the subject, while still keeping it on Dawn, would help Dusk relax. Besides that, he was bored and just wanted to talk to somebody.

"...Are you done making fun of me and Dawn?"

Brendan blinked, surprised by the serious tone that Umbreon used. "What?"

"The little digs that you shoot at us whenever we're doing something together. Are you done with them?"

"I already promised Dawn that I'd stop," Brendan mentioned, crossing his fingers behind his back. "_Doesn't mean that I did stop, but..._"

"...So is that a yes?" the Trainer pressed on.

"I'm sorry, Dusk. I'll keep a lid on it."

"Thank you."

"But where'd that come from?" Brendan wondered. "I mean, I can't blame you for bringing it up. Just kind of weird that it came from nowhere."

"I just needed to know," Dusk responded blandly, barely answering Brendan's question. Before the more experienced Trainer could call him on it, Dusk entered the second cavern.

-----------------------

"_This wind, the view...It's all so beautiful_." May closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment she had to herself. "_But, why? Why did I have to stop here? It was like I was being told that I had to stay here...Well, it's nice anyway, I suppose_," May smiled.

Her face quickly became serious again. "_Didn't Brendan say something about us leaving tonight? I get to see my family again, I guess. Even though I barely know them, I will miss those two...Atleast I'll always have Damia's scarf_." She giggled as she hugged the item that was tied around her neck.

------------------------

"Yeah...I knew it was coming eventually."

"In her own way, I think Dawn said that same thing. Again, sorry, Umbry."

The two kept pushing on through the treacherously long mountain. Not only was the walk dull, but it was also starting to become a little colder inside. Dusk and Brendan having only the company of each other and their respective loose Pokémon only made the trip more boring.

"Don't apologize. It's not like it's your fault. Dawn's told me more than once that she's had it in the back of her head that you two'd be leaving eventually."

"...And you?"

Dusk turned his head to the other side.

Brendan bit the edge of his lip. "Listen, Dusk, are you sure you don't want us to stay any longer? We seriously will..."

"No. Like Dawn said, the longer you stay, the harder it'll be when you eventually leave, anyway." A moment passed, and Dusk chuckled. "You realize that about two weeks ago, you asked us to take you to Oreburgh City?"

"Two weeks ago, there were two more buildings in this country. And, as far as I know, Team Missile didn't have a motto yet."

"We decided to get rid of the second one, by the way," Dusk explained. "We're just going to work with the first one."

"Well, I, for one, am expecting the greatest one when we all reach the top of the mountain."

Wizard had a terrible thought. He turned his head to the side and looked at Torchic, who was luckily on the closest shoulder to himself. It suddenly hit him why Torchic had been so quiet today. "Pika...Pika, chuu?" he questioned weakly.

Torchic bobbed her head up and down, sadly kicking at Brendan's sleeve. "Tor..."

"Wizard..." Dusk mumbled to himself. As he lifted his hand up to pet the rodent along with opening his mouth to speak, he was stopped by an odd sound.

Head bowed, eyes shut, and heart beating, Wizard broke down crying. His hands clamped extra tightly onto Dusk's beret, though they didn't remain there for long.

Before his Trainer could even realize what was going on, Brendan reached over and took the mouse in both of his hands. He held him up in the air, hoping the ride would lift his spirits. "Buddy! What's wrong?"

"Pika!" Wizard shook his head madly. "Pikachu! Pikachu! Pikachu! Pik--" With each cry, his tiny tears fell down faster. He finally choked, stopping him from continuing. He was, however, able to slam his eyes shut.

Dusk dipped the beret lower on his head. "He really doesn't want Torchic to go..."

Brendan stared at his human partner for a moment, registering his words. "Oh..." Seemingly without reason, the Hoenn Trainer brought the Pikachu up to his mouth. Wizard's ear wasn't even an inch away from Brendan's head when the latter began whispering something to him.

After a few short words, the tears instantly stopped. Wizard's eyes popped open. "...Pika?"

"Yup," Brendan answered, pulling Wizard away from him. "Oh, but you can't tell anybody, okay? It's our little thing for now."

Wizard stared blankly at his racing partner. It wasn't a second until he wiggled out of Brendan's grip, and instead leapt forward to give him a bear hug. Brendan laughed when Wizard crashed into him. "Pikachu! Pika, Pikachu!" he shouted joyfully, not paying attention to the remaining tears.

"Don't thank me, buddy. Save it for May." Brendan gave the Pikachu a tight hug before setting him back on Dusk's shoulder.

Umbreon looked at Torchic, who returned it with the same confused expression. They both shrugged, knowing that Wizard wouldn't share whatever secret Brendan had just told him.

Even more minutes passed, this time a little awkwardly. Dusk had decided to take the chance of asking Wizard what had made him feel better, letting the mouse mutter an arrogant, "Chu," in response. Angered, the boy continued on, talking only when addressed by Brendan.

The exact time was 13:16. They were forced to hope that they were making excellent time, since they were only about half-way to the top.

Dusk stopped walking. "Brendan, listen..."

"Is that a voice I hear?" Brendan replied, holding back a smirk.

"No, not that!" He began laughing, then unattached Moonite's Pokéball from his belt. "I think my old friend forgot something."

"Whaddyu--"

The ground quaked dramatically, signaling the incoming of something angry. Suspense wasn't kept for a minute before a familiar-looking Steelix broke out from the underground. It let out a massive roar, quite annoyed that the burn marks from its last battle were still visible.

Brendan folded his arms, secretly thankful that the tyrant had atleast given them a warning this time. "All right, I know that you two have a lot of catching up to do, but I really don't think Moonite should come out and play right now. Can't Metagross meet him this time?"

"But Moonite loves to play!" Dusk countered, shooting the Pokéball into the air. "What kind of a Trainer would I be if I deprived my Pokémon of something they liked?"

The other decided to say nothing.

"Moonite, I don't think it liked the last spot we buried it in, so we need a new one. Force its hand."

Moonite opened his mouth and released a whirling stream of flames, but it didn't attack Steelix directly--rather, the blaze surrounded it on all sides, trapping it in a ring of fire. There was one way to get out of it, but even the wild Steelix knew it wasn't a good option. Dusk smirked upon seeing the Steelix struggle with its decision.

"You got fifteen seconds," he warned. "I'll give you that long to figure something out."

The Steelix wasted nearly none of his allotted time before making a move. It began grinding a certain boulder on its body as if automatically, forcing sand to start spewing out of it. The sand covered the battlefield, and more importantly, smothered the surrounding flames.

"Aw, c'mon. You don't--" Dusk spat out some sand he had gotten in his mouth. "You don't want to go underground anymore? Fine, be that way. Moonite, Quick Attack!"

Even though the decision to use Quick Attack on a Steel-type was odd, Brendan once more remained completely silent. Torchic and Wizard were in the same situation; they seemed to have a bit more confidence in the Trainer, however.

Moonite raced for Steelix, leaving a blinding trail of sand behind him. Steelix brought its heavy tail into the air and tried to crush Moonite with it--of course, Moonite's agility was much too great, and he quickly dodged out of the way. Before Steelix could get its tail back up for a second attempt, Moonite jumped on top of it and began running straight up Steelix's body.

"You baffle me, Umbreon," Brendan finally said.

"That isn't hard." Dusk pointed his finger into the fray. "Moonite, let's make this one flashy. Get to the top and jump!"

Despite Steelix's attempts to shake Moonite off, he stayed directly on top of it. As he climbed up its neck, the blaze on his back only began burning brighter and stronger. When he reached its head, Moonite jumped into the air and turned around so his back was at Steelix. He launched multiple Embers into the air--an act that instantly stopped his inertia and forced him to go back down to earth quicker than he previously would have.

He crashed back into Steelix's head, spinal flames first, causing it to tumble over and slam into the ground. Moonite proceeded to carry out his own order by jumping back into the air and shooting a white-hot Flamethrower straight at Steelix, crisping it.

Dusk blinked, amazed that his Pokémon had done all that without receiving a single order. "Uh...Yeah! That's what I was going to have you do! Great job, Moonite!"

"Quil..." he panted back.

All the Embers that Moonite had shot into the air before were beginning to get affected by gravity as well. All of them hovered back down to the ground, with well more than half hitting Steelix. Unable to take any more abuse, Steelix finally fainted.

Resting in front of his opponent in victory, the fire on Moonite's back was the widest it had ever been. The inferno reached four feet off the ground before the Quilava let out a loud growl.

As had happened once before, Moonite's body began glowing a blinding white. He slowly changed from a quadruped to a biped. He doubled in length and quadrupled in weight. The light shattered off into sparkling stars as the final form of the Pokémon appeared in front of the Trainers. "Typhlosion!!" he screamed, releasing even more fire from the new vents that he had ringed around his neck.

"That thing evolved already?!" Brendan shouted, stunned enough to collapse his folded arms.

"Seems that way, doesn't it?" Dusk responded with a smirk aimed at Moonite.

Wizard became somewhat frightened by his once-cuddly friend. He hid behind Dusk's beret a little, poking his head out only enough to look at the Typhlosion. "Pika...chu?"

"Torchic!" Torchic smiled cheerily, knowing it would help Wizard.

The mouse gave a weak, but understanding and grateful smile in return.

"All right, Moonite. You rest up now. I'll be counting on you when we get to the top." Dusk withdrew his Pokémon and set the Pokéball away.

Things started calming down after Dusk and Brendan sidestepped the unconscious Iron Snake Pokémon.

"So I guess that's why you were pushing Moonite so hard? To evolve it?" Brendan asked, needing conversation.

"It's implied. I'm actually a little surprised how quickly it happened, though. I was figuring it would take a few more battles, atleast."

Somehow, they managed to reach the second exit alive. There was only a single way to go, meaning no more guessing games. Even colder air was starting to blow in from the cavity.

"We're getting pretty close..." Dusk reminded his teammate.

Brendan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Dusk, I know it's getting pretty intense up here, but...I'm sorry, bud. I got to head back. I got to go find May."

Dusk looked back at the winding trail they had just walked. He thought it was odd to come this far only to run back, but he admired his friend's devotion enough to not say anything about his opinion. "Fine. Just get back here as soon as you can."

Brendan looked in the opposite direction that Dusk was watching. A slow but steady stream of snowflakes was falling outside, though that wasn't exactly what he was paranoid about. "You sure you're going to be all right? Galactic could be around any corner up here, and the fact that you only have two Pokémon on you isn't reassuring, either."

Dusk's head turned back to the exit. "You forget that one of those two Pokémon is a wolverine that stands on two legs and breathes fire from its neck. I'll be fine."

Brendan put one hand on his shoulder, wordlessly thanking him for letting him go, then turned around and ran back through the cave once again. Dusk continued pressing on into the frost-covered platform outside.

---------------------

"_I wonder what Brendan's doing right now_..." May pondered. "_If I remember Mount Ember right, I'm pretty sure he's just about ready to blow the top of it off...Well, it could be worse, I suppose. He could blow the entire mountain up instead_."

She sat down on the grass, though she wasn't sure how long she was going to stay there. She couldn't peel her eyes away from Eterna City. "_I wonder how my family's changed in the past four years? I bet Max has grown tall...or not. Mom and Dad..._" Her head slowly shifted, not stopping until she could see the cave's entrance. "_Hey...I wonder how those two are doing?_"

----------------------

"Jun, I..."

"You pause a lot! You're like my cousin when he plays a video game! Just, out with it, woman!"

Climbing straight up the incredibly deep slope, Torterra put one confident foot right after another. Dawn was resting on top of the Grass-type Pokémon. It wasn't an enjoyable ride, but she was safe as long as she kept her arms wrapped around Torterra's growth. Right next to them, Jun was keeping up much better than a normal human should be able to. Using a single pickaxe and little else, Jun managed to stay right by Torterra's side, sometimes even gaining a little ground on it.

It had been a long and bumpy day, but the trio of Dawn, Jun, and Torterra were almost three-quarters of the way to the very top of the mountain.

"It's, just...I know that you're optimistic about life, and that's great. I know that you don't like drama very much. But...is it okay if I talk about some things that I'm scared about?" Dawn rubbed her head nervously against the tree on Torterra's back.

"What? Sure! Dawn, we're best buds! You can come to me for anything you need!" Jun exclaimed energetically, never missing a beat with his rock climbing.

"Thanks..." The girl slowly rested her head on the growth. She sighed before her heart poured out its anxiety. "It's all of my other friends...They're really competent Trainers, but Galactic never seems to have less than a hundred men on hand at once. I'm terrified...What if they need me? What if they need us? May, the other girl, has recently had some memory problems, and I want to be there in case she feels like the boys are forcing her to do this."

Jun didn't speak a word. His only reply was a few grunts as he continued climbing.

"And another thing is, what of Torterra?" Hearing its name, Torterra turned its head back curiously. Dawn removed an arm from the moving tree and started petting its shell. "How am I supposed to get back down the mountain? Going up is one thing, but poor Torterra's going to pick up too much speed if it tries to bring me back down the mountain..."

For the second time, Dawn gave a short pause--a time span that Jun said nothing in.

"And what happens if we get to the top, and none of our friends are waiting for us? We could have to face every single member in Team Galactic alone until we get back-up. And that's assuming that we do get back-up..." Dawn twirled a finger around on Torterra's back. Her sad eyes watched herself do that. "I'm sorry for being so pessimistic. It's unrealistic to assume that everything's going to go perfectly, but I'm sure that not everything bad that could happen, will happen, either. Even though that's the story of my life right there..."

More time passed. This time, Dawn began wondering. "Jun? Are you listening to me?"

"Huh?" he replied instantly. "Oh, I didn't know I had to listen! I thought you were just going to talk! My bad! Start over from the top, would you?"

Dawn decided against it. Instead, she kept banging her head on Torterra's growth. "Just...nevermind."

"Okay. Hey, Dawn, look!" Jun took a hand away from his climbing and pointed upwards. "There's a cave right up there! It looks decent enough, so let's rest there for a few minutes!"

Dawn turned her head around and followed where Jun was pointing. When she saw the location, she bit the inside of her lip. "Actually, that's kinda close to the inside of the mountain...If it's okay with you, I'd appreciate it if we actually went around it as far as we could--"

"Sure, no problem! Hey, Torterra, race ya up there!" Breaking all laws of possibility, Jun managed to pick up more speed. He started gaining an inch on his Pokémon with every passing second.

"Jun, wait!" Dawn cried out, "The point of this was so I wouldn't have to expose myself...to..." She hung her head low and sighed. "Why do I even try?"

"Terra," the Pokémon finally spoke.

As if Dawn's fragile confidence needed any more of a beating, it was only minutes before they were on a mini platform. Big enough to hold Torterra, Jun, Dawn, and not much more, the platform was a nice break from constantly rising uphill.

The pleasant rest didn't stop Dawn from staring into the cave with fear trembling her heart. When her shaking legs slid off of Torterra, she realized that the cave's entrance was mere yards away.

Even though it was cold, Jun wiped off a forehead full of sweat with his hand. He had already happily collapsed on the ground, panting. "Yikes! Whatta day, huh? Atleast we still got the best part to go. Right, Dawn? Dawn?" Jun hopped to his feet and quickly made his way over to the girl. He put his hands on either of her elbows when he realized that she was actually shaking. "Dawn, what's wrong?"

Dawn dove into Jun's chest. In spite of being held, she broke out of Jun's grip and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Jun...Please. We're really close to the mountain. I'm so scared. Please. Can we rest somewhere else? Anywhere else?"

"Dawn..." Never having to deal with such emotions before, Jun was forced to wing his words. He calmed down his excited nature enough to rub Dawn's back soothingly. "Dawn, girl, you're way too hyped-up! Take a deep breath and calm--"

"I don't dare to breathe at all, how do you want me to take a deep breath?!" Dawn snapped back, two tears slipping out of her eyes. After realizing what she'd done, she accidentally inhaled a deep breath as a force of habit. "I'm sorry, Jun, I'm sorry...Please..."

"It's okay, Dawn! We can keep going! No need to rest, really. I'm still good! And Torterra's a beast, so don't worry about him! I just thought you'd like a minute break, but that's okay! You all ready, then?" Jun took another hold on Dawn's arms and pulled her out of the hug. Considering how tightly she had been gripping, Jun was surprised by how easy it was to break her off. He raised an eyebrow after staring at her face for a moment. "Dawn? You're lookin' a little pale. You okay?"

No response. Still holding her arms, Jun leaned down and looked into Dawn's eyes. They were open, but void of life. "Dawn? You're creeping me out, here! Wait, I got some water. Here, let me get..." Jun removed his hands from Dawn's arms so he could search through his pack.

"Tor?!" Torterra shouted.

Unable to support her own weight, Dawn stumbled backwards. She only stumbled a single step before running out of ground.

With a loud, disturbing cracking sound, Dawn started to roll down the same mountain that Torterra had worked so hard to get her up on. Torterra blinked, unable to make a physical movement. Jun watched her unconscious body get lifelessly tossed around by the dirt and rocks.

"...Whoops."

------------------------------

After spending so much time alone, May gasped when her name was suddenly called from behind her. She jerked her head toward the sound of the direction, and became quite surprised when she saw a friendly face. "B-Brendan? What are you doing here?"

Due to all the running, Brendan was panting by the time he got up to May. He bent down on a knee and put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "If I stayed with Dusk, we would have exceeded the weight limit. Are you okay?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine...Why would you ask that?"

"...Er, nothing. Just curious." Brendan took a seat next to May, simultaneously attempting to regulate his breathing. "Anyway, are you sure you still need to stay here? We could really use your help in the mountain."

May observed the short grass near her knees. "N-no. I'm sorry, I just...feel like I can't."

"Don't apologize. It's fine. We'll just kinda hang out here for now. So what's up?"

The first thing May did was recall Torchic, who was looking somewhat bored, into her Pokéball. "Brendan..." The woman's eyes turned sharp, even though it was her ears that she was paying attention to. "Do you hear something?"

When the boy tuned his ears, a gentle thumping could be heard clearly. Neither Trainer were able to identify the exact location it was coming from.

"If it's an avalanche, I'm jumping down this mountain," Brendan warned.

The noise steadily began getting louder.

"Whatever it is, it's getting clo--"

"Shh," May interrupted.

The curious woman casually scanned the area until she spotted the source of the sound. It was an object that had been rolling down Mount Coronet the rough way. May jumped to her feet upon realizing what the object was. "DAMIA!!"

"What?!" Brendan stood up so fast, he nearly fell back down again.

From the rocky, hilly mountain above them, Dawn was rolling down at an incredible rate of speed. Her head nicked a jagged rock, but it wasn't enough to so much as slow her descent. She continued barreling down the mountain until she rolled right over a rock formation laid out like a ramp. Her body was tossed into the air, slightly above the Hoenn Trainers' heads.

May hurriedly undid her scarf and cracked it like a whip, giving one end to Brendan. "Hold this!" Without giving herself time to have a second thought, May jumped off of the mountain and grabbed Dawn from the air, who would have otherwise kept falling down.

The momentum from the swing kicked in, sending May careening into the rocky wall of the platform, back-first. Through the pain, she knew she couldn't drop Damia. With one hand holding hers, and the other hand holding the scarf, May was about to be torn in two. Relief came when Brendan began tugging on the scarf, lifting them both up.

After a few minutes of an adrenaline rush, all three were safely on the platform. Brendan was on one knee, still trying to figure out what had just taken place. May was writhing in pain--her back had crashed against a series of sharp rocks, all of them digging through her skin. Small amounts of blood doused her shirt, though there was much more sting than the red liquid. Dawn was laying on the ground, completely motionless.

Brendan finally pulled himself together and raced over to his ailing girlfriend. "May, are you all right?"

"I'll be fine...Please, take care of Damia..." She cringed, refusing to let her tears fall.

"I can't help her right now. Let's see you."

Brendan was prepared for an awkward moment--May wasn't.

Without shame, the male took the bottom of May's shirt and lifted it all the way up to her neck, revealing most of her back. There were three deep red marks around her shoulders, though there was also some blood on her bra, meaning she must have gotten injured there as well. He reached for his backpack and took out a first aid kit, then began applying medicine to May's wounds. He slid a soft band-aid over each one after he had finished with them.

May had a strong blush on her face the entire time.

Less than two minutes ticked away. Though he could have been enjoying the view of May's almost-naked back, Brendan's guilty conscience kept his medic skills moving quickly. When he was finished, the first thing he did was lower May's shirt back down. "There we go. Feeling good?"

May sat up, finally having the ability to do so. "Yes..." She blinked. "Uhm...Thank you...Brendan..."

"Not a problem, but if you ever get a jagged rock between your legs, I'm afraid you're on your own there."

May laughed, but it soon died when she saw Dawn still laying in the position she had last seen her in. She crawled over to her side and ran her hand through Dawn's hair. "Please wake up, Damia..."

Brendan bit his lip. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know where this was going to go.

May noticed a small speck of red in her friend's gravel-coated blue hair. She lifted up the Sinnoh Trainer's bangs to see an open sore. "Oh..." May took off her bandana and wrapped it up into a headband, similar to Wizard's headgear. She tied it firmly around Dawn's head, making sure to wrap the bleeding area. "...Please? You have to wake up..."

Brendan slowly walked over with his first aid kit still in hand. He began bandaging the cuts and scrapes she had also received from the fall. Her face, arms, and legs all had markings on them.

It felt to May that hours had passed. She hadn't moved from her spot, lovingly running her fingers through Dawn's hair. Brendan had walked back a short ways, unable to emotionally stand May whispering encouraging words into Dawn's ear. "_May...You don't even realize that she just fell halfway down a mountain. If she's even hanging onto life by anymore than a thread, the chances of her waking up anytime soon are--_"

"UMBRE...on...Augh..."

Brendan jerked around. He was met by Dawn, who was sitting up and pumping her fingers. May was on her side, keeping an arm behind Dawn's back for support.

After getting over the shock, Brendan put on a light grin. "_I should have said that fifteen minutes ago._" He casually made his way over to the women, grabbing his first aid kit again incase it was needed.

"Damia!" May exclaimed, finally hugging her conscious friend. "Are you all right?"

"Dandy..." Dawn answered sarcastically, not being effected by the hug much.

"Here." Brendan reached into a separate compartment of his backpack and pulled out a white bottle. "I always keep drugs on me." He handed her the bottle, along with another bottle filled with water to take the pills with.

"Uhm...Thanks." In spite of the cuts and other somewhat severe wounds that Dawn had sustained on her way down the mountain, she grabbed the gifts and used them effortlessly.

While Dawn was taking a long sip of water with her eyes closed, Brendan furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey, uh...Dawn? I'm having a hard time believing that you actually just took those from me so...easily."

The collected girl opened her eyes to look at Brendan curiously, but was too fond of the water bottle to move it away from her mouth.

"Cuts, scrapes, bruises...I fixed up a gash that was on your right arm. You just moved like you weren't in pain."

His last sentence seemed to be enough for Dawn to lose her thirst. She pulled the water bottle away and stared at her pink cast in a suddenly-timid mood. "Oh..."

There was only a moment of quietness before May realized that Brendan had come on a subject that Dawn didn't want to talk about. She tried changing the topic, hoping it would kill the awkwardness. "Damia, what happened?"

"Ugh, that idiot..." Dawn set the bottle filled with pills on the ground and shook her head. "Jun took it upon himself to take a rest stop. Unfortunately, that rest stop was half a foot away from the inside of the mountain."

"What?!" Brendan shouted before May even had a chance to say anything.

Dawn lifted her head upwards until she eyed Brendan. "Try not to get to mad at him...That's just Jun. Anyway, I started panicking and couldn't stop myself from breathing. The last thing I remember is barely being able to tell right from left..."

"But you're okay now, aren't you?" May asked worriedly.

Dawn forced a smile. "Something like that." She pushed on her arms, then legs, finally getting to her feet. She dusted off her clothes, noticing they were dirty, then turned around to look at the same view that May had been staring at. "Wow. Eterna City looks a lot bigger than it did from up there." After getting no response to that statement, Dawn turned her head half-way towards the other Trainers. "Where's Umbreon?"

"You know, that's a pretty good question," Brendan answered, shifting his own head back towards the cave. "We'll go find him in a few minutes, but I'm thinking you really shouldn't move that much right now."

"May..." Dawn turned back to Eterna. "Can you come here for a minute?"

"Oh, sure." May took a couple steps in Dawn's direction. "What--"

Before she could take any more than those paces, Dawn turned around and bolted at May's body. She crashed into her, causing the older girl to stumble back a step.

Instead of getting angry, May looked down to see what the reason for the assault was. She gasped, then locked her arms around Dawn's waist. "Damia, it's okay! Don't cry! Falling down that mountain must have been horrifying, but you're okay now..."

Tears were drenching May's shirt, directly under her right shoulder. Dawn made no effort to hug May back. "May..." She choked. "I-I can't feel anything..."

Not thinking properly, May rubbed Dawn's back. "What do you mean?"

"I c-can't feel anything..." she repeated, still struggling to keep her voice understandable through the tears. "My body...is numb..."

May quickly turned to look at Brendan. His expression was frustrated more than anything else. "That little punk..." he said under his breath. May assumed he was implying the blond-haired boy.

Her attention was again diverted when she heard another voice, this one nearly as quiet as the tone Brendan had used. "May...?" Dawn lifted her unfeeling hands up and wrapped them around May's back. "Don't leave me...Please?"

"Dawn..." May nuzzled her head into the top of Dawn's own head--an action that the latter girl hardly felt at all. "We're best friends! I'm never going to leave you, no matter--"

May was interrupted when Dawn grabbed hold of her back even tighter than she had been and began crying hysterically. The targeted area of May's shirt was almost completely soaked in tears.

The Hoenn Trainers looked at each other. May finally began petting Damia on the back. "Just let it out..."

Time continued, seemingly so much slower than it used to go. Dawn's crying had slowed, but didn't necessarily stop.

She yawned, then turned her head to one of May's sides and closed her eyes. "I guess not feeling anything has its perks...I could probably fall asleep right here..."

May smiled as she looked at Brendan, silently confirming the obvious question. "Damia? Do you want to take a nap here for a little while?"

"...We should go find Dusk..." Dawn answered slowly, much more tempted to take May's offer than she wished she was.

"Well, not if you're tired. You can rest on my sleeping bag."

Dawn smiled a little, then left May's hold so she could get her backpack. "But...May?"

"Mm-hm?"

"Why...Why do I have your bandana on?" Dawn questioned, doing her best to feel the material with her hand.

May finally got hold of her lime green sleeping bag and tossed it over the ground. "Your head was bleeding, so I used it to bandage it. Bandanas aren't always for looking good, you know." May stuck her tongue out, then offered her hand to Damia.

She accepted it, and was slowly elevated downwards until she was laying on the bag. Dawn tapped the bag, then the dirt. She couldn't tell the difference. Tears started coming back to her eyes, but she tried to stay strong.

While May stepped away to let Dawn get some sleep, Brendan started walking over to her. She was searching through her bag, probably making sure nothing was lost, though Brendan didn't feel like questioning her on it. Instead, he squatted down and watched Dawn shuffle her belongings around. "Do you know why you can't feel anything?"

Dawn's expression grew sadder, but she still kept her eyes in the holdall. "I...probably did something to my brain, right?"

"Yeah, that was going to be my guess, too..." Brendan gripped her leg and shook it lightly, hoping to keep the girl's spirits up. "You're going to be okay, Dawn. We'll get'cha through this." He stood up and turned around, taking a cue from May to give Dawn some privacy. "May and I ain't going anywhere until we figure something out."

Dawn knew that he was walking away, which meant that her window of opportunity to get his attention was small. She sat up, hoping it would catch his eye. "Brendan?"

"Oh, yeah?" he responded without turning around.

"You..." Dawn's eyes turned to the ground for a moment, but quickly lifted up to the back of Brendan's head. "You don't...really want to leave Sinnoh, do you?"

Brendan froze, though he managed to keep his body language to a minimum. He forced himself to recover and twirl around, pushed laughter escaping from his mouth. "Not sure what you're talking about. I'd take any chance I could to get away from you two." He turned back to his previous direction and waved Dawn off. "Besides, everybody knows that Hoenn rocks, anyway. You shouldn't have your mind on that while trying to sleep, though. We'll wake you up in an hour or two so we can keep moving."

Dawn sank back into her bed, though her eyes never left Brendan as he walked closer to the edge of the cliff. "_Brendan..._"

Thirty minutes vanished quickly, atleast for Dawn, who had fallen asleep near the instant that she laid down. The Hoenn Trainers bided their time, usually staying apart from each other. While running Dawn's question through his head for the hundredth time, Brendan's train of thought was thrown off track by loud footsteps blasting inside of the nearby cave. The shoes screeched to a halt, and an energetic young man skidded into view.

He walked out casually and rubbed his forehead of more sweat. "Phew! Nothing gets the old ticker pumping like running. Anyway, Dawn landed here! Sweet!"

Being the closest to the cave, May was the first to make nervous eye contact with him. She raised an arm to her chest, no longer feeling safe with that boy near her. "Oh, it's...you."

Jun ignored May and headed straight for the other girl. Before he could reach her, he crashed into somebody that acted like a brick wall.

"Heyy...'Said your name was Jun, right?" Brendan asked cooly, unfazed by being run into.

"Sure is!" Jun closed his eyes and grinned stupidly. "Don't wear it--"

While he was blind, Brendan ran a fist directly into Jun's face. The boy was pushed back, eventually stumbling to the ground.

May gasped. Every part of her mind didn't want to believe that her boyfriend had just done that.

Brendan walked forward to where Jun had fell. Before he even had a chance to get up, Brendan grabbed the writhing boy by his collar and lifted him up.

"Dude, what was that for?!" Jun shouted, forcing an eye open.

"Sorry, 'dude.'" Brendan shook Jun's shirt, rattling his head a little. "I think Dawn would love to ask you the same thing. If, you know, she was **conscious.**"

May bit her lip before speaking. "Actually, Brendan, she's just slee--"

A nasty glare from Brendan shut her up. He returned his gaze to Jun. "Man, what the hell is wrong with you? We were all kind of counting on you to keep Dawn out of the mountain, and the first thing you think to do is lead her straight into it?"

"Okay, look." Jun swept an arm across Brendan's. The teenager's upper limbs had more strength than Brendan was expecting, so he had no choice but to release Jun from his grip. "It was an accident, man! Let it go. When Dawn wakes up, there's no way she'll be mad at me! She might be pissed off, but she won't be mad!"

"I wouldn't really be putting words in her mouth, if I were you," Brendan warned, rubbing his wrists.

Jun lifted his open hands up to neck-level. "Whatever, man. I just want to check on Dawn. But it's good to know that I don't dare leave her in the hands of a freak like you."

"**You're** the one that doesn't trust me with her?! You dropped her off of Mount Coro-freaking-net! The day I--"

"Guys!" May yelped, leaping into the tight space that was between Jun and Brendan. She lifted both arms up, keeping the boys at bay from each other. "Don't be so loud! Damia really needs to rest, and now she's stirring..." May pointed over to the sleeping girl, who was fidgeting in her sleep. "If you yell anymore, you'll wake her up! Can't we settle this...civilly, somehow?"

Jun folded his arms and tapped his shoe on the ground. "I am not playing a game of Chess. It's far too long and boring!"

Brendan rubbed his eyes. "That's not what she was getting at, Jun..." He took a deep breath to calm down. Surprising himself, it worked. "Jun...Why don't you go find Dusk?"

"Huh? But Dawn--"

"We'll keep Dawn safe," Brendan answered, lowering his hand back to his side. "And...I'm sorry for hitting you. Just go find Dusk. He's still in Coronet somewhere. Make sure he's safe, then tell him what happened." Brendan nudged his head in Dawn's direction. "We'll let her sleep for a little while, then we'll be on your heels." Finally, he offered his hand to Jun. "We cool?"

Jun sighed, unwilling to work the strength up to smile. He still gripped the hand and shook it. "Yeah, we're cool. Just don't treat the rest of your friends like that."

Brendan found a smirk on his face. "I'll keep that in mind."

Jun gave a nod to both Hoenn Trainers, then turned around. He took a single step, but stopped himself from breaking into a run. Instead, he turned around and looked at Dawn. The more he stared at her many bandages, the guiltier he felt. "When she wakes up..." he started, not appearing to address either specific Trainer. "...make sure she knows that I'm sorry, okay?" Too impatient to wait for a response, Jun shifted back and darted into the cave.

Brendan folded his arms while watching his odd companion dash away. "That Jun...He's all right. A little troubled, but all right."

May turned her head to the side. When she saw that she succeeded in her mission of keeping Dawn asleep, she smiled faintly.

One more hour passed by, and Dawn squinted her eyes open. Once her senses returned to her, she realized that she had rolled onto her stomach sometime during her sleep. She pushed with her arms, lifting herself up until she could rest on the back of her legs.

Realizing that the girl behind him had sprung to life, Brendan ended his watch of Eterna City and turned to her instead. "Hey, girl. Feeling good?"

The question earned him a fatal leer. The unprepared boy cringed upon realizing what it was for.

"Er...Bad choice of words. Sorry."

Dawn steadily got to her feet. She was nervous on numb legs, but surprised by how usable they still were. "Where's May?"

"Present," May spoke up shyly from her position behind Dawn. The latter girl found it odd that May's hands were behind her back, but couldn't say anything about it before the older Trainer talked again. "Hey, Damia? You remember your scarf, right?"

"Um..." Dawn blinked at her. "Little hard for me to forget about it, actually," she replied, stifling a laugh. "Why do you ask?"

"...I-I'm sorry, Damia, but I think it got somewhat ruined in an, uhm..." May quickly searched for a word. "...accident." She brought her hands to the front and revealed the scarlet scarf to Damia. It had been torn and somewhat dirtied during the process of saving its original owner's life.

Dawn ran a hand through the slightly tattered material with a blank expression. May was anxious of Dawn's thoughts right up until she started laughing. "It's okay, May. I have to say that I was expecting worse than that. It's still usable."

"Damia, I know how important this scarf was to you, and I take full responsibility of what happened to it, and--"

"May. Didn't you hear me? I said that it's all right." Dawn paused to smile. "And yes, I still want you to have it."

May threw her arms behind Dawn's back. The blue-haired Trainer remained frustrated that she couldn't feel the embrace, but tried to remember that it was the thought that counted. "Thank you..." May mumbled.

"Well...Hey," Brendan announced, clapping his hands once. "If we ain't got nothing better to do, I guess we...head through the mountain. We'll blast through them as fast as we can, okay, Dawn?"

The question went ignored. Dawn bent down and looked through her handbag, eventually pulling out a green Pokéball and necklace. Berlitz appeared out of the ball and, without speaking a word, accepted her apparel. Dawn dropped the ball into the bag, then stepped past Brendan and towards the view of Eterna City.

May was in the process of rolling her sleeping bag back up when she noticed Brendan was staring at her. "What?" she mouthed.

He pointed at Dawn discreetly, then knelt down to the sleeping bag. Realizing that he wanted to trade positions, May stood up and headed towards Dawn.

"It's...funny, almost," Dawn said the moment she knew that May was within hearing range. She and Berlitz were still looking in Eterna's direction. "You won't remember, but right now is where I would come to you with all my problems and fears. I never understood how, but you always found some way to get me past everything..."

May got to Dawn's side. She was starting to grow tired of the same view of Eterna City, but thought it would be appropriate to be closer to her friend. "So what's stopping you now?"

"You...want me to bug you with my problems?" Dawn wondered, looking at May. "You don't know anything about me anymore...Not like you used to, anyway."

"No..." May closed her eyes and shook her head gently. "That's not true. I know that we were good friends, Dawn. I know it. That's all I need to know. So talk to me."

"Can I share something personal with you?" Dawn wondered anxiously. She received a nod, which was good enough. "The truth is...I...haven't had my first kiss yet."

May turned her head toward Dawn. An interested smile was on her face. "Oh?"

"I'm guessing you pieced this together by now, but Dusk and I aren't siblings. We're friends. Really close friends." She reached her hand up and petted Berlitz's head, remembering from earlier days that the ghost enjoyed it. "I had the entire thing planned out in my head...We'd beat Team Galactic, and at the peak of our excitement, Dusk would lean over and kiss me..."

"I used to do that, too," May confessed after Dawn stopped talking for a moment. "I'd always daydream about when Brendan would first kiss me. I mean, without a few thousand people watching us on national television. Maybe after that dinner, or if I won that Contest..." She giggled. "I'm sorry. This isn't about me, is it? Go on."

"If only that was my problem..." Dawn lifted her head to stare at the sky. No clouds to pay attention to disappointed her, but she continued talking anyway. "What if Dusk kisses me...and I can't feel it? What if I can't even feel him when he holds me anymore?"

"And what if you can?"

Dawn jerked toward May. She said nothing, though her confused expression spoke volumes.

"It's just a thought..." May kicked at the grass. "Brendan mentioned that he thinks something happened to your brain on the way down, but...isn't it odd how the only thing that happened because of that was your loss of feeling?"

"I..." Dawn muttered, unable to say anything else.

"It could be temporary...or maybe a miracle could happen." Dropping her shyness, May tilted her eyes to the side and smiled while Dawn registered her words. "This is the Pokémon world, after all." Her gaze returned to Eterna City. "I know what it's like to be uncertain of the future. I can't go an hour without wondering if I'll ever remember everything again. That's why it's so important for me to believe in something. Have faith that everything will be okay, Damia. Because it will, somehow. You'll have your first kiss with Dusk, and you'll be able to enjoy every second of it. And I'll get my memory back, too!"

At first, Dawn's mouth was twisted into a small grin. By the time three seconds ticked away, it had become a large smile. "I didn't think it was possible for you to be any more optimistic than you were before, May."

May giggled again. "I'll...take that as a compliment."

"Thank you, May. Really. That helps me feel better about having to go through Mount Coronet, too."

"If breathing in the air is what upsets you, you should use my bandana as a mask."

Dawn blinked. "...Huh?"

"Like this." May undid the knot that was keeping her bandana a headband on Dawn's head. She shook it out, then folded the cloth in half. Next, she wrapped it around Dawn's head, making sure it covered from her nose to below her mouth. She stood back and admired her work. "It certainly isn't fool-proof, but it can't hurt any."

"Wow. Um..." Underneath the bandana, Dawn's voice was a little muffled. She couldn't hide that she was stunned by her friend's versatility. "Thanks."

"No," May smiled. "Thank you. It means a lot that you trusted me with your worries."

"Well, what do you know," a third party stated arrogantly. The girls turned towards his direction and smiled at the friendly face, though Dawn's was hidden from view. "We have ourselves a bandana bandit. If everybody's good, let's go! We got some Galaxies to conquer!"

Brendan took off running. Rejuvenated by May's speech, Dawn, followed by Berlitz, gave a happy chase. May quickly stashed her rolled-up sleeping bag into her backpack and tried to catch up with the others.

-----------------------------------

"Wait a minute. Jun was talking about his Pokémon back in Veilstone?"

"Chuu?"

Dusk was, as usual, walking blindly through the cave, hoping to accidentally stumble upon the exit. Even though he had convenient access to a watch, he was blissfully unaware that he had been exploring this particular cave for nearly two hours.

The background was reminiscent of the Pokémon Centers--the same thing over and over again. The only ounce of excitement was when the walls had crashed together, leaving only a small opening near the floor to crawl through. After passing through that, there was nothing but a wide path to follow, guided by rocky walls.

"So, then, he doesn't know my real name."

"Pika pi."

He turned a corner.

"You know, why isn't there a tour guide for this place? Or atleast an information pamphlet."

As he continued walking down the dusty trail, his eyes began focusing on a white object that he was slowly nearing. As he got closer, he realized that the object was breathing rapidly. He quickly ran up to it, only to find the 'it' to be a 'her.'

"A-are you all right?!"

The girl, looking to be no older than six-years-old, was leaning on the wall with all of her weight on her left leg. Her right leg was slightly suspended in the air with blood rapidly flowing out of it, just above the knee.

Her uniform was cursed with a somewhat generic get-up. A cute yellow blouse, plain white miniskirt, and uncomfortable-looking sneakers was all the clothing she had on her. Her brown hair was shoulder length, though she had a small bun in the left hand corner. Her twinkling, nervous eyes didn't leave Dusk's face as she shook her head in response to his question. She pointed to her leg.

"Man, this thing's bleeding, isn't it..." Dusk observed the injury. He hesitated, then finally spoke up. "Here, lay down."

Dusk offered her help to lay down, but she didn't accept it. She shook her head once again, trying hard to sidle closer to the wall.

"I'm not going to hurt you. We need to get this thing fixed before you lose anymore blood!" he scolded, hoping to stay firm but not scary.

It took a few seconds, but she agreed. Carefully, she slid down the rocky wall, landing on the ground with a small thump.

Wizard jumped off of his perch and scampered next to the person. "Pika, chu?" the mouse chimed in, rubbing the girl's arm.

She looked back at him with the same confused expression she used to look at Dusk.

"All right, let's see now...Let's...see..." Dusk quickly realized that he had no bandages. He could take his vest off and use it for a makeshift bandage, but it's awkward design would've made it too difficult. He thought of one thing he could use, but tried to think of any other alternative. Nothing came to mind. "Sorry, Dawn," he said aloud.

He took his backpack off and unzipped a portion of it. He reached his hand in, then took it back out--its tight grip was holding Dawn's bandana. "This should help control the bleeding," Dusk explained. He lifted her leg up just enough to slip the unprofessional medical item under it. He began tying it around her injury. "I can't take you back down the mountain right now, but I got a couple friends that should be following me pretty soon, and I'm sure they'll help you, okay?"

She continued staring at him. Seemingly more than anything, his beret.

"I'm Dusk, by the way. What's your name?"

Silence.

"...Uhm..."

The confused girl watched Dusk carefully finish knotting the bandana around her leg.

"Er...Anyway, it might not be safe for you to stay here by yourself. Do you want to come with me until my friends get here?"

Though it was scarcely noticeable, she nodded her head.

Wizard began sniffing her hand. She returned the gesture by staring at him curiously. "..._Pika?_"

"This is Wizard, by the way. He's my attack dog." Dusk stood up and helped the girl get to her feet as well.

Wizard smiled as the girl returned her gaze back to him. "PiPikachu."

Dusk started walking off, allowing Wizard to escape as well. The girl stood still and watched them.

Umbreon noticed this and turned around. "Don't you want to come with us? It'll be safer if we protect each other."

She looked at the headband tied around her injury, then back at Dusk. She slowly started stepping towards him, but after one more call by her new companion, caught up to him in a speedy manner.

"I also have a Typhlosion, but he's resting right now," Dusk explained. "What Pokémon do you have?"

More silence.

Dusk turned his head to look at her. Though she'd been completely silent, Umbreon didn't realize until now how much he missed having a human partner to travel through Mount Coronet with. "You don't have any Pokémon?"

She nudged her head left and right.

"Ah...Well, that would explain why you were kinda stuck back there. Don't worry about it, though. We'll protect you," Dusk offered, lifting his shoulder that Wizard was on into the air.

"Kachu!" he nodded.

She stared mystified at them.

-----------------------------

"_Simple rule,_" Brendan thought, "_Keep Dawn's mind off the Coronosis, and pow. No problem at all._"

"So, is that bandana helping, Damia?" May asked innocently.

Brendan slapped himself on the forehead. "_I shouldn't be surprised._"

Berlitz had been recalled into her Pokéball, so it was only the trio of humans that were already half-way towards their first target. Of course, it wasn't much of an accomplishment, since the right-hand exit wasn't far away from the one they had entered from.

"Yeah, it's...actually doing pretty good," Dawn answered from behind the cloth. "Thanks, again."

"You always say that!" May countered with a laugh. "I remember the first cave I ever explored...I think I was six, and it was just me, Max, and Dad..."

Dawn and Brendan shared a look with each other.

"One of the Pokémon that Dad was researching...I think it was a Lotad...No, it was an Electrike! Wait, I'm thinking of something else...Maybe it was a Doduo...Anyway, it was sick," May continued, not even noticing the other two. "Somewhere in a cave just off of Littleroot Town, there was supposedly a certain berry that would help it get better. Well..."

The Coordinator kept going with her story. In fact, she left the other two curious if she was ever going to stop. Her amusing, if not extra-detailed plot carried the Trainers through the rest of the first cave, across all of the outside platform, and a little into the second cavern. Dawn had actually become intrigued with the story. Brendan noticed that and, remembering the medicine that the Oreburgh nurse had given her, hoped to abuse it.

"That's real fascinating, but if you want a story, tell 'er about the first time we went into Victory Road together, May..." Brendan requested with a forcefully-blocked smirk.

Dawn tugged on the tails of the bandana, tightening its grip on her face by a bit. "Any story that involves Brendan must be atleast decent."

May brought a finger to her chin and thought carefully. "Victory Road, Victory Road...Is that where--" A strong laughing fit interrupted May's sentence. She tried her hardest to calm down so she could share the story with Dawn. "Have you ever seen a Shiftry, Damia? Brendan's Nuzleaf had just evolved into one. And, for some reason, it was obsessed with the move Mud-Slap. So..."

--------------------------------

"Hey, so...What can I call you?"

The team of Umbreon, Wizard, and the girl continued through the confusing paths. With a smart guess by the silent girl, the trio managed to go the correct way when they had reached a fork in the road. The exit, though far off, was in sight.

The girl appeared to become a little sad, which Dusk assumed branched from an inability to respond to his question. After some time was spent thinking, she snapped her fingers and looked at her two traveling companions. Without somehow requesting permission, she reached for Wizard and held him in front of her head.

"Pikachu?" Wizard questioned blankly.

Hearing the phrase, she nodded her head.

Dusk blinked his eyes. "You, um..." He fixed his beret. "You want me to call you...Pikachu?"

She bowed her head up and down again, seeming to be ecstatic about the nickname. With her request granted, she happily set the mouse back on Dusk's shoulder.

"All right, then. Weird at first, but one gets used to it. Is your leg feeling okay, Pikachu?"

Pikachu didn't answer. She didn't have time to.

Agile footsteps could be heard behind them. Before she could even fully turn around, Pikachu was grabbed from the back. Not knowing that she couldn't scream for help anyway, the captor kept one hand covering her mouth, and used the other arm to keep Pikachu's own arms restrained. Pikachu kicked madly, but to no avail.

Dusk spun around cooly, not wanting to show his enemy any fear. He was somehow surprised when he laid eyes on who it was, even though he should have been expecting it. "A random Galactic nut. You know, you people have an obsession with grabbing others from the back. I'd work on that."

The grunt was armed with nothing more than standard grunt things: bowl cut turquoise hair, uncomfortable suit, and a surprisingly well-toned physique. This particular one also had a slightly frustrated attitude. "It's a bad guy thing! Let us roll with it in peace, already!"

"I haven't had the chance to pay you goons back for doing it to me in Jubilife. Now, drop Pikachu before this gets ugly."

The Galactic guard looked at the floor, where Wizard had hopped to. He looked back at Pikachu, then Wizard again, and finally up to Dusk. "But I'm holding this girl! Your Pikachu's down there!"

Dusk stuck his hands in his pockets. "No. That's Wizard. You're holding Pikachu."

He turned his head for a moment, mouthing a few words to himself. He looked back at Umbreon after figuring something out. "Whatever, man! Look, the boss told me no interruptions allowed. Even two clearly unthreatening kids aren't allowed through. Spear Pillar's off-limits right now! Sight-see later!"

"Mm, sight-see, right, right..." Dusk took a hand out of his pocket to scratch his chin. Assuming that this man's intelligence and loyalty levels were low, Dusk decided to see if he could get any information out of him. "Your boss...He was the one wearing the, um...Oh, what was it?"

The grunt took the hand that was holding Pikachu's mouth and waved it in the air carelessly. "Oh, he's always wearing that stupid orange suit. It looks terrible on him, but I can't say anything..."

"The only thing worse than the suit is his name, right?"

"I know!" the grunt laughed. "Who names their dictator son Gio--" He cut himself off, instead donning another cross expression. "Hey! I'm supposed to be battling you, not making friends!" He gripped Pikachu tightly. The pain actually made the young girl cringe. "Surrender now, or prepare to--GAH!!"

Footsteps, even faster than the ones before, came careening towards the group. Before the grunt could properly act, the owner of the feet tackled into him from the back. He was forced to let go of Pikachu, though she was sent rolling on the ground a few times.

Dusk's eyes widened when he saw who the savior was. The rescuer was simply laying on the Galactic grunt, pinning him to the dirty floor. "Rape scenes aren't cool, dude!"

"Jun?!" Dusk shouted.

The boy looked up and locked eyes with his friend. Jun's eyes turned out to be a bit happier than Umbreon's. "Dusk! Hey, buddy. Pretty epic save, right? So what's up? What's with the girl? When did--"

"Get off'a me!" the grunt cried, taking advantage of Jun's lapse in concentration and pushing him off. He scurried to his knees, then got to his feet, dusting himself off along the way. "These suits are ugly, but they're certainly not cheap! And unlike your sweat-soaked clothes, I can't just throw this thing in the washer and forget about it! Ugh, kids these days..."

Resting on the ground, Jun watched the grunt mutter in frustration. "Dude, I'll give you five bucks if you go buy a personality with it."

"What was that?!" he shot back.

Dusk was going to help Pikachu get on her feet, but noticed that she had already stood up. He offered a hand to Jun instead. When he got the blond to his feet, Dusk didn't release the hand from his grasp. "You got some explaining to do, Lucy."

"No problem, Ricky!" Jun happily responded. "Let's get rid of our guest first, though, okay?"

"Get rid of me? Ha! Yeah, this will be--"

"Freeze."

"--good...EEP!" The grunt began shaking when he felt cold steel rest up against his spine. "Please don't shoot! I have a wife, and kids!" His face suddenly morphed into confused bitterness. "...All right, well, no, I don't, but please don't shoot anyway!"

Dusk and Jun, along with both Pikachu, couldn't stop themselves from looking at what had made the grunt change his attitude. Dusk and Wizard were the only two that furrowed their eyebrows curiously. "Ashley...?" the human muttered.

Ashley equipped a smile, even though it was faint and almost unrecognizable. She used the opposite hand that was holding the gun to push a single strand of hair behind her ear. "It is good to see you again. This is not the preferable time to hold a conversation, however. We shall talk again soon." Ashley pushed the gun harder into the Galactic's back. "It would be for the best if you came with me."

"Yeah! Sure! Sounds cool! Haha...ha..."

The four moved to the sides, allowing Ashley room to push the Galactic grunt forward. Jun was the most curious of her, staring widely at her red dress as she passed by. Though everybody's eyes were on her, the young bounty hunter made no effort to look at anybody as she passed by them.

When she was out of hearing range, Jun frowned. "Who does she think she's kidding with that red dress? She's still pretty cute, though. So what's her story?"

"Ashley. We met her in Veilstone." Dusk cracked his knuckles. "But she's the last thing you need to worry about. If you're here, what happened to Dawn?" he questioned, keeping his voice a bit on the cruel side.

"Oh, that..." Jun forced a chuckle. "You're probably going to laugh..."

---------------------------------

"...And then it used Whirlwind, and blew him straight into the wall!" May finished, even though Dawn was already doubled over in laughter.

The rest of the group was making their way along Mount Coronet quite comfortably. They had passed by the fainted Steelix, which marked the half-way point of the cavern. May was still more than content telling any story that she could remember, while Dawn laughed at most of the details. Brendan was the silent one of the group, talking only when spoken to. He was nervous that all of Dawn's laughter forced her to breathe in a lot of mountain air, but she showed no signs of collapsing. He passed it off as paranoia and tried tuning into May's exaggerated tales.

"Anyway..." May stuck her hands behind her back and stared at the tall ceiling to the cave. "Do you have any stories, Damia?"

Instead of responding to the question, Dawn turned her head towards May. She lowered her eyes until she met with the scarf. "_...A lot,_" she answered to herself, somewhat tearing up while her gaze never left the accessory. "_I just wouldn't be able to get through any of them without crying, that's all..._"

May noticed she was being stared at. Her eyes nervously shifted in Dawn's direction. "Um...Damia? Are you okay?"

"Oh...Yeah. I'm okay. Sorry. What was the question?"

Cutting in before May, Brendan talked with a highly curious expression. "I got a question. Were you just staring at my girlfriend's chest?"

Dawn jerked her head over to Brendan. Her sub-conscious cursed at the unrealistic lighting in the place, which did nothing to hide her slight blush. "What?!"

"Um..." May scratched her cheek, keeping her arms in a position that hid her chest from a side view. "Damia, I'm flattered, but I--"

"I wasn't looking at--" Halfway through her shouted sentence, Dawn stopped and rubbed her eyes. "F-forget it. I won't lower myself to Brendan's level."

Brendan brought his hands into the air, creating a surrendering motion with them. "Hey, I never said that I had a problem with it. Threesomes--"

"BRENDAN!!" both girls yelled as soon as they heard the last word.

Relieving both women of much humiliation, and also Brendan of an awkward position, a voice from behind them respectfully interrupted, "Excuse me." The male voice was kind, and seemed to leak with professionalism.

The three Trainers turned around. Dawn and Brendan gasped when they saw who the owner of the voice was, but May didn't recognize him. "Galactic!" the former two shouted in unison.

Standing before them was a Galactic grunt, outfitted with nothing more than the other one had been. Unlike the other one, when eyes were upon him, he pushed his arms up against his side and took a heavy bow.

"Yes...How I hate to interrupt you, but I was hoping to ask for your permission to stop proceeding through this mountain."

Dawn and Brendan looked at each other. The girl also tried looking at May, but the woman was too busy staring at the odd suit to notice.

"Sure," Brendan said slowly, unwilling to lower his guard. "You can stop going through the mountain any time you want. No need for our permission."

The grunt laughed a delicate, genuine laugh. "No, no. Forgive me, I didn't make myself very clear. I meant to say that I was hoping you and your group wouldn't mind stopping. There's an amazing ceremony taking place on Spear Pillar this evening, but I'm afraid that it's not open to the public."

"Don't worry." Brendan frowned. The other two kept silent. "We got VIP passes." He made a casual reach toward the Pokéball housing Metagross. "Do you need to see them?"

The Galactic guard released a sigh. "Please, sir, a duel is quite unnecessary. If you were to just--"

The Hoenn Trainer launched the ball into the air a short distance, causing gravity to take effect and send it back down into his hand. His eyes never left the Galactic's in the process. "You know what else is unnecessary? White Crayons. And yet, they're still there."

A second sigh made its way through the grunt's lips. "I see. Very well, then. Please, forgive me."

Rather than stepping back to initiate a Pokémon battle, the grunt took a swift step forward. He thrust a damaging palm at an unprepared Dawn. The attack managed to land on the barely-healed injury on her head, opening the wound back up. The force also made her stumble backwards until she eventually tripped on her own feet.

The grunt acrobatically back-flipped a safe distance away to prevent a counterattack. "I offer you one more chance to accept my request."

Brendan looked at Dawn. The numbness had blocked all the pain from the attack, but she didn't seem pleased with having been pushed to the ground. "Dude," Brendan started, turning back to the Galactic. "Bite me!"

"...I see." He lowered his head and closed his eyes. "Please forgive me, innocent girl. It's unfortunate, but I know where your weakness lies."

Unsurprisingly, the grunt ran forward. Instead of going straight for Dawn, he pushed Brendan to the side, stunning the Trainer for enough time to safely get to Dawn. He stood over the girl on the ground, who was too flustered by the speed the grunt was moving at to make any movement. Without any form of hesitance, the grunt bent down and instantly undid the knot on the back of May's bandana.

Dawn was the most horrified of the three Trainers after realizing what his tactic was. When she unwittingly wrapped her mind around Coronosis, violent coughing was imminent.

The grunt rolled forward, got to his feet, and shot the bandana on the ground. "I simply feel horrible," he stated as he turned back to the Trainers. "What happened to the girl was unfortunate, but--"

"Not as unfortunate as what's going to happen to you if you don't shut up."

Again, another voice was heard. Dawn was unable to comfortably focus, but the remaining three turned their heads upwards.

Gun pointed in the Galactic's direction, Kartock slowly stood up from his position. He had been hiding on a convenient rock that was jutting out far enough to completely cover himself from sight.

Never lowering his weapon from the grunt, Kartock jumped down from his perch. His suit was camouflage, but nowhere near the correct color--instead of a dusty brown, the suit was a bright white. Since he'd been completely hidden from ordinary view, he didn't mind the mismatch so much. Since the lighting was perfect for it, he had decided to keep his sunglasses on.

"Time for you to take a nap." Still keeping his fatal gun aimed, Kartock whipped out another gun with the opposite hand. He pulled the trigger, but instead of a bullet, a compact dart shot out of it and into the Galactic's neck.

"Ah. I see I let my guard down."

It wasn't long until toxins leaked into the grunt's body. Dazed, he fell to the floor, though he was asleep by the time he hit it.

Kartock set both weapons inside their respective holsters. "You people don't listen very well, do you?"

"Who are...you?" May wondered quietly.

"Always nice to see you again, too," Kartock replied sarcastically. His eyes turned to Dawn. The girl was sitting up, but she had a barren, lifeless expression on her face. "Poor girl looks dead. Leave her in here for a few more minutes, and looking dead won't be her only problem." He jogged forward, then knelt down in front of Dawn. With the help of his intense training, the bounty hunter was easily able to cradle Dawn in his arms. "Let's go." He got back to his feet and tore off for the exit.

Brendan and May looked at each other, shrugging in order. Brendan followed after him, then May. The woman stopped to look down at the grunt one more time. The corner of her eye caught sight of her bandana. After picking the cloth up, she chased after the rest of the group, never caring to turn her head back again.

It wasn't long at all until the group was into fresh air. It wasn't helpful that the same air was also freezing, but it was necessary to rest here until Dawn came back to. May shivered, then rushed to Dawn. Kartock had set her on the ground before stepping away and letting her friends surround her. Brendan seemed much more interested in the bounty hunter than his ailing friend, however.

"So...What's with the suit?"

Kartock chuckled and folded his arms. "Can I get some credit? I was told we were going up a mountain. I expected there to be a little more snow than this." The young man cleared his throat, leading way for a more serious expression. "The girl will be fine," he assured, noticing how worried May looked. "She'll wake up in a minute." Without an explanation of why, Kartock turned to his side and paced forward.

Brendan gave a curious chase.

"Oh, Damia..." May moaned, running a hand through the unconscious girl's hair. Doing so caused her to realize the wound that the Galactic had opened before. Careful to make sure everything was precise, May folded her bandana into the same bandage it had been used for before and wrapped it around Dawn's head a second time.

Out of the women's hearing range, Kartock stopped walking. He looked at the ground while fixing his sunglasses' position. "It was Brendan, right?"

Brendan folded his arms and looked out at the view the team had. Rather than Eterna City, nothing but uninteresting fields and forests could be seen from this direction. "Still is, weird enough."

"I have to admit something to you, Brendan," Kartock confessed. His eyes turned up to look at the top of the cave they had just come out of. "The fact is...I'm glad you didn't listen to me. I underestimated Galactic's power, not to mention numbers. Ashley and I wouldn't have a prayer to take them down on our own." Kartock shifted his head to the side. The corner of his eye caught sight of Brendan. "After Veilstone, I'm led to believe that we could do a lot worse than you."

"Uh...Thanks. I think."

"Whether you'll believe me or not, that was supposed to be a compliment." Kartock stretched his neck, pausing while he came up with a subject. "I never caught the girl's name. Was it Damia?"

"Nickname," Brendan answered, surprised that he was holding a casual conversation with someone like Kartock. "Her real name's Dawn."

Silence blew through out of nowhere. The Hoenn Trainer coughed. "So, anyway...Where is Ashley?"

"We play a game of leapfrog when we do missions like this," Kartock responded truthfully. "One of us takes a floor, and the other stays behind to make sure that the first isn't going to be followed. Being straight, I haven't seen her face in over two days."

Before sarcastically noting that Kartock didn't really answer the question, a third voice interrupted Brendan.

"Guys?" May spoke from her position, heightening her voice's volume so it would reach its targets. "Damia...still hasn't woken up..."

Brendan turned around to look. Appearing to haven't even heard May's plea, Kartock reached for a walkie-talkie. "Ashley?" he spoke.

There was only a brief pause before a somewhat staticky voice answered back. "I copy. What is it, Sir Kartock?"

"How's everything going?"

"Well. I encountered a Galactic worker, but he was easy enough to...dispose of. I have also joined forces with our external teammate from Veilstone City, who has two friends with him."

Brendan jerked towards the compact radio. "_Two...?_"

"I can relate," Kartock replied back to his trusted companion. "Ashley, I'm afraid it's do or die time. Get to the exit and make sure everybody stays down. I'll be joining you shortly."

"Understood."

Knowing it was the last transaction with Ashley until they regrouped, Kartock safely locked the walkie-talkie back into its place on his belt. Afterwards, he again turned his head half-way towards Brendan, managing to spot him with the corner of his eye. "It's a fun fact that the third floor is usually considered the longest. The only reason that holds true is because it's like a maze in there. Take the right turns, and we'll be in and out of there in ten minutes, tops."

"Your point?" Brendan countered.

Kartock turned around. He watched May continue to interact with the unresponsive Dawn. "My point is that I'm not going to waste the time waiting for Dawn to wake up, recover, then hope that the same thing doesn't happen again in the next mountain. We're going through. Now."

"But--"

"After falling unconscious, the victim usually has over two hours before actually dying. So the simple rule is that if we don't get too lost in there, Dawn will end up no worse than she is now."

Brendan tapped his foot on the ground. "Forgive me, but I can't help but find it strange that you know so much about this. Why did you waste your time studying something as random as Coronosis?"

Kartock contemplated refusing to answer. When he saw how anxious May was about Dawn's condition, he decided to wait for another few minutes. Replying to Brendan's question was the only way to pass the time. "...Ashley has it."

"What?!"

"Coronosis." Kartock turned his head to the side, this time, away from Brendan. "We found out that Ashley had Coronosis about a year ago. She got the shot and spent months meditating, training her mind to never think of the disease. At least, not while she was in a mountain. It was vital to her career that she got over it, and was willing to do anything to save her job." Kartock gave a rough "hmph." "I've wasted enough time talking. Let's move out."

Even with a nervous, "Wait," muttered by May, Kartock still walked over to the two and picked Dawn up. He slowly stomped towards the next cave, saving his energy so he could run all the way through it.

May got to her feet and sighed. Brendan set a hand on her shoulder. "She'll be all right. Thick as he may seem, Kartock knows what he's doing."

May looked at him curiously. "Who's Kartock?"

"Uh...Nevermind. We better go after them."

---------------------------

"Dude...You got the instincts of a wolf."

Kartock's promise was fulfilled easily enough. They didn't have convenient access to the current time, but the group knew that they hadn't been in here for more than a half hour. Even through the exhausting maze, Kartock had led the team to the road leading to the exit.

"Nah. I call it pure luck," Kartock answered modestly. "You're free to say otherwise, though."

May remained silent. The only thing that was worrying her more than Dawn at the moment was how Dusk was going to react when he saw her.

Dusk, Jun, Ashley, and the mysterious girl were leaning on the side walls when the others met up with them. Eyes were looking everywhere--Brendan and May looked at the girl nicknamed Pikachu in surprise, Jun kept Kartock in visual range, Ashley and her captain shared a look with one another, and Pikachu stared at just about everyone worriedly.

Umbreon kept his eyes only on Dawn.

"...Right," Kartock stated, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "If everyone's ready, I suppose we might as well get this thing started."

"What thing?" Jun questioned. "Oh, that. Right. Nevermind."

Kartock turned to look at Brendan, who gave him nothing in return but a nonchalant shrug. The bounty hunter shook his head and moved towards Dusk. Remembering how close the two were standing together in Veilstone, he thought it was best to offer the girl to him. "I'm sure she'll be fine, kid. Just give her some fresh and time to recover."

With his work done, Kartock walked closer to the exit, stopping before actually walking through. He folded his arms while staring out into Spear Pillar. "Let me know when we're ready to go."

Dusk's first reaction was to jerk his head at the Hoenn Trainers. "Is she all right?" he asked hastily.

"She's...fine," Brendan said reluctantly, unintentionally implying that it was a lie.

May rubbed her elbow when Dusk's gaze fell on her instead. She tried looking away, hoping it would help somehow. "Considering everything, Damia made out great, Dusk...But she..."

Brendan let out a strong sigh. "Stalling won't help. She's complained about not having any feeling at all in her body, Dusk."

"Brendan..." May whispered hoarsely, having planned on using more subtlety.

Everyone but the Coordinators and the bounty hunters set their eyes sadly on Dawn's lifeless body. In spite of not knowing her at all, Pikachu was almost as worried as Dusk was about the Sinnoh Trainer.

Ashley started to speak up. "Perhaps--"

Before she got any farther, Kartock twisted his head around. The corner of his eye, even through the sunglasses, succeeded in glaring at his teammate. "Ashley. Don't speak out of line."

The quiet girl cleared her throat. She decided to continue, despite the vague threat. "I have...ways of healing that most doctors are not aware of. Allow me to offer a deal. If we succeed in stopping Team Galactic, I shall...see what I can do about this girl's condition."

Dusk turned to Jun, then May. They both had the same surprised expression on their faces. "Well, considering that works right into our plans anyway, I guess--"

"Wait, wait," Brendan interrupted. "Is there a rubber chicken and a slice of ham involved? Because I read about that once, and even tried it, and I got noth--"

"Brendan..." May repeated with clenched teeth, this time a little louder. An embarrassed blush was on her face with nothing around to hide it with.

"Hey, just trying to stop a scam in-progress..." Brendan defended, taking a step back.

Dusk shook his head disappointedly. He slowly worked the courage up to turn back to his serious partner. "We'd be grateful, Ashley. Thanks."

For the second time, Ashley gave Dusk a faint smile. She didn't let anybody study it for long before dropping it and turning around. "We are wasting time. Allow us to proceed."

The group got ready to go. They crowded up to the exit, but Kartock didn't move out of the way.

"You talk too much, Ashley."

The abusive remark made the team look at each other. Ashley did nothing about the cold statement, failing to even change her expression.

Awkward and dysfunctional as Kartock had left them, Team Missile and their four teammates walked through the open exit that led into a bright Spear Pillar.


	22. Bringing the Galaxy Down to Earth, Pt3

Once outside, Kartock was one of the first that scanned around the area. Completely unrealistic as it was, there was absolutely no snow on all of Spear Pillar. His white camouflage did nothing to help him, given that the only surroundings were dust and decay. As the name might suggest, there were multiple pillars, most being broken, surrounding the entire outside platform. A few people walking around could be seen far in the distance.

May folded her arms and shivered. Though there wasn't any snow, it was still freezing at the top of the mountain. It wasn't much, but Dusk took off his thin vest and gave it to her. His mind was too worked up about Dawn to think about the cold. "...Th-thank you, U-Umbreon..." May muttered.

Dusk and Brendan shot a glance at each other. "_Told you so_," Dusk mouthed.

Brendan shook it off and drew closer to May, helping her to keep warm.

"All right," Kartock said as he stretched his arms and legs. "Ashley, carry out the previously decided order."

"Twelve-six revised?"

"Negative. Eleven-eight. We're taking this down the middle."

"I apologize. Understood."

Brendan coughed. "...So...?"

"We beat the crap out of them. That's all you need to know," Kartock explained. "One, three, four..." he mumbled to himself. "How many Pokémon do you people have?"

"Uhm..." They looked at each other, trying to mentally figure it out. Dusk finally answered. "Well, between me, Brendan, and May, eight, I think. If Dawn wakes up, there's another three. Pikachu--er, the girl doesn't have any. Jun, how many--"

"You people are pathetic!" Jun randomly exclaimed. "I got six."

"Four, eight, eighteen...All right, we got somewhere between eighteen and twenty-one to work with, then. We'll have to hope that's enough."

"That's one vote of confidence," Brendan smugly noted.

Kartock jerked to him. "Underestimating your opponent is one really great way to die. It almost always works. It's better to be crushed by disappointment of an easy battle than to just be crushed, don't you think?"

Brendan slightly hissed. Atleast when Dusk used logic, he didn't sound like a jerk doing it.

"There's nothing else to do." Kartock walked over to Dusk and picked Dawn out of his grip. He effortlessly began carrying her himself. "Let's go bag us one really nice bounty." He turned around and began walking towards Team Galactic. Ashley, of course, was by his side. She was slightly curious what made him help the team by carrying Dawn for them, but decided against questioning it.

Everybody looked at each other before tailing them.

As they neared the site, one of the people gasped and fell backwards. "NO! NO! Now tell me I must be dreaming! Surely this can't be true?!"

As if on the same wavelength, Brendan and Dusk both cracked their knuckles. "Go die, Roark," Brendan suggested.

"It is! It's all my greatest friends!" the ex-Gym Leader stood back up to his feet. "By Golem, I can't believe we'd meet each other in a place like this. How's everybody been?" He folded his arms and let out a cozy smile.

"There hasn't been enough days since the last time we had to see you," Brendan answered. "so it's all been full of suck."

"Roark...the Oreburgh guy? Didn't you get busted back at the Gym?" Kartock had mixed emotions. On one hand, he was surprised that Roark was out of the slammer. On the other hand, this meant that his bounty might be back up for grabs.

"Oh, through countless toils and drudgeries, the kind officers allowed me to be free into this world! What a great criminal-stopping force we have, isn't it?"

Dusk continued scanning the people who hardly even noticed the team had arrived. Something in his mind finally clicked, and he instantly figured out who they were. "Mars? Venus?!"

They turned their heads. "Oh, hi, darling!" Venus greeted. "I see that you're still unharmed. That's just great. I was afraid that explosion of my factory would have hurt you somehow. I'm at a loss for words when I'm asked who did it, though..."

Though she was clearly being sarcastic, Dusk smirked, proud of his achievement.

"So, wait...If you two are here...Roark works for Team Galactic?!" Brendan pieced together.

"Actually, see, it's a little funny," Roark began. "I didn't when we had the amazing chance to meet each other back in Oreburgh. Then these two darling ladies right here came and...convinced the 'police force' to spring me. Then they took me back to the big cheese, and wapah! Here I be."

"I thought you said you stunned the guards and broke out yourself..." Dusk recalled what the crazed man had said back in Celestic Town.

"Yeah, well, I also said Dawn's father is dead, and look how true that came out to be."

"What?!" Dusk nearly jumped. "Dawn's father isn't dead?"

"I'm not saying he isn't. But soon after I broke out of jail, I kinda found my father alive, so I have no idea what happened to her sperm donor...Nor could I really tell you his name, now that I think about it." He chuckled. "Guess I got so focused on Dawn that I missed details like that."

"Speaking of crap, how about you go ahead and start explaining what you did with Celestic Town?" Brendan snapped, somewhat alerting May. He calmed back down, mostly in order to calm her down as well.

"OH! THAT! Did you like that? I did it myself," Roark declared, clearly prouder than he should have been. "Since you guys had so much fun blowing all our factories up, I thought I'd give it a whirl, and I have to be honest, I now know why you do it! It's great. I should go do it to the Jubilife station like I said I was before."

"What you're doing is evil...You blew up an entire village of innocent people!" Dusk stammered.

"Celestic Town's gone?!" Jun rattled out quickly, not having heard the news before that.

"Oh, are you still on that evil thing?" Mars finally spoke up. She was smiling. Though unlikely, it was possible that it was because she was glad to see Dusk safe. "What we're doing isn't evil, hun. We're just trying to help. Like how you recycle things."

Dusk growled underneath his breath.

Roark sighed. "So this is when we go into another unnecessarily dramatic battle chapter, right?"

"No. Not yet. There's one small piece of business that still needs attention." Dusk's eyes were practically enveloped in flames. "Where's my Pokémon?"

"What? That dingy thing? Uhh..." Roark concentrated at a rock in the distance, trying to think. "Um...Sorry. I ain't got nothing. Wait! Did it have a big red nose? Oh, wait, that can't be right..."

Dusk's head lowered. Brendan and Jun each put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him.

"OH! Doh, crap, I don't even think I've introduced you to the Boss, and my old man! Brendan, May, Dawn, Dirt, you other people, this is Dad! Say hi, Dad!" Roark stepped to the side to reveal the only person that nobody wanted to see.

"Why thank you, Roark," he smiled.

"Sure thing, Pop."

"However, all of us have had a few, rather unfortunate, get-togethers already. You two, however..." He stepped up and put his hand under Ashley's chin, gently lifting it up. "I don't recall seeing you before."

"I wish not to harm you. Please state your name and reason for touching me," Ashley demanded, not making an attempt to shake the hand off of her.

"Me?" he chuckled, then turned his back to everybody and walked forward a few steps. His orange suit shined in the sun, though his combed hair was perfectly untouched, as always. "My name is Redford Giovanni. The pleasure's mostly yours, I'm sure."

"Yep. Roark Giovanni. Isn't it just awesome?" Roark chimed in.

May leeched onto Brendan's arm. "Brendan, who is he?"

"We met him before," Brendan answered. "As he said, unfortunately."

Giovanni spun around. "And if you're wondering where your stupid Pokémon is, Team Galactic released it when we got the power we needed. I made a note to tell you specifically that it was absolutely worthless to us. I do hope it's living in a comfortable condo by now."

Dusk's fist clenched. He needed to get off this subject. It was a weak spot for him, and he couldn't reveal that to his worst enemies. "What's taking you so far out of character, old man? Usually you won't shut up about how my Pikachu needs to be combed, or telling us to get out of your way when you just turn around and walk in the other direction anyway."

"I must say, it appears that being reunited with my son has been rubbing off on me. Which reminds me, I've caught wind that you like karaoke. Perhaps I can entertain you. Venus," he called out, though he didn't continue.

"Er, right!" Venus stumbled around with a cassette player until she finally hit the play button.

Brendan smirked. He couldn't wait to see the leader of a criminal organization break down into song. "_Probably dance, too_."

Kartock set Dawn gently on the ground and sighed.

Giovanni cleared his throat, stalling time until the old tape player started playing the music. Finally, though somewhat creaky, it began with an eerie tune.

"_I was born to rule the world..._

_...And I almost achieved that goal_." He began pacing.

"_But, my Pokémon, the mighty Mewtwo_

_Had more power...than I could control_." He clenched his fist, unable to bear the thought of that painful day.

"_Still, he inspired this mechanical marvel,_

_Which learns and returns each attack._

_My Mecha Mewtwo, the ultimate weapon,_

_Will tell them, 'Giovanni is back!_'" He laughed manically, then stepped off to the side. Behind him was an amazingly complex robot, but he continued his song before the team could study it much.

"_There'll be world domination,_

_Complete obliteration,_

_Of all who now defy me!_

_Let the universe prepare,_

_Good Pokémon beware,_

_You fools shall not deny me!_

_...It will all be mine!_

_Power so divine!_

_I'll tell the sun to shine, on only me!_" He pointed up to the heavenly object.

"_It will all be mine,_

_'Til the end of time,_

_When this perfect_--" He was interrupted by the music suddenly quitting. "What are you doing?!" he quickly snapped, jeering his head over his shoulder to glare at his underlings. "I wasn't finished!"

"It's not me, Sir!" Venus panicked, fumbling constantly to get the machine working again.

Giovanni turned his head back to the group and snarled. Kartock was holding a pistol in his hand. "OCP attachment. Sends an invisible beam that temporarily kills machines with the touch of a button. Spare me, Redford."

"Hmph. We were just getting to the best part, too. Jerk."

"Sticks and stones, Kate-monster." Kartock waved the gun around in the air a bit before setting it back inside the holster.

Brendan scratched May's hand. He had forgotten she was attached to him. "Hey, uh, I wasn't going to say anything last time, but shouldn't you be running a card game tournament or something?"

"Silence!" Giovanni slashed his hand through the air. "Meet my marvelous Mecha Mewtwo!"

"Try saying that five times fast!" Dusk poked.

Despite trying to downplay the situation, Dusk knew that this toy wasn't one to be played with. It took on the form of an actual Mewtwo perfectly. The only difference was that this machine had body armor on, probably to make up for its lack of invincibility that the true Mewtwo has. Its head, chest, arms and legs were all protected by solid steel. Since the Pokémon itself didn't really look mechanized, the 'Mecha' part must be coming from this extra defense system.

"Nothing but an ounce of DNA was all it took to create such a wonderful soldier. One that can be topped by none other than the original Mewtwo."

"Yeah. Funny thing is, it seems a few wires are disconnected, because that thing hasn't moved since we saw it," Brendan reminded his opponent.

"Oh, I assure you, no wires are disconnected," Giovanni promised with a stereotypical grin.

Mecha Mewtwo's eyes suddenly glowed a fatal blue from behind its visor. The beam was so strong, it nearly blinded any who looked at it directly. After its initial startup, the light dimmed slightly.

"Good show, old chap," Giovanni laughed. "Now go and attack that girl there. It sounds like fun."

"What?!" Dusk, once more, nearly jumped. "Dawn can't even move right now! And besides, you can't just attack a human!"

"Watch me," Giovanni countered.

"This is a cheap trick..." Dusk continued.

Giovanni smirked once more. "...Now you're getting it."

Mecha Mewtwo thrust forward at an incredible speed. As he neared within inches of Dawn, an explosion of smoke and dust surrounded the battlefield, blinding everybody.

May cringed. Brendan growled loudly. Jun did the same. Even Kartock and Ashley flinched. Dusk couldn't possibly pin a single emotion. One part of him wanted to kill himself instantly. The other wanted to kill Giovanni first.

"I think everybody's missing the bright side, Dad. Now I finally got my revenge for her father killing you!"

The father and son laughed.

Dusk's eye twitched. "You're..." He stretched his neck. "...You're...You're going to die. Do you want to see your own death, or would you prefer me to gouge your eyes out first?!" Dusk ripped off after the opposing team. Atleast, tried to.

Though the dust obviously limited his vision, Brendan got a sharp hold on Dusk's collar. "Whoa, boy! Slow down."

"Oh crap, we're getting threatened again! Because you haven't done that fifty times already." Roark scoffed. "When this dust clears, we'll see who gets to kill who, 'kay? Let me warn you that I have a feeling that's going to be the guy that has a hand on a pistol right now."

"Why, thanks for the mention, Roark," Kartock cut in. "Actually, though, I'm holding onto some grenades right now. See, I doubt bullets would do much to that Pokémon thing of yours, but I bet a few explosions would."

"Oh, that's cool, but I was actually talking about myself. You and I can go next, though! Of course, we'll need another dust cloud...Ah, we'll shoot for that little girl back there that hasn't talked yet next. She's kinda bugging me. Speaking of which, what's with you people getting a buncha new friends without telling me? Any friend of Brendan's is a friend of mine, you know!"

The dust began to thin, though it was still blinding.

"Who needs enemies when I got a friend like you, eh, Roark?"

"That's right! ...Oh, hey, wait a minute..."

Wizard's ears twitched in the air. "Pika...Pikachu?"

"...I got an idea!" Roark suddenly screamed. "We should play telephone while we're waiting. Who wants to start?"

"Pika, Pika Pi!"

"Alright, the furball can start!" Roark announced. "This could get somewhat confusing, but we'll give it a shot."

Dusk ignored him. "What is it, Wizard?"

"Chu, Pika Pi, PiPika. Chu, Pikachu, pika pi..."

"Hey, no fair! You can't say it out loud! Now everybody knows it. Try again."

Once more, Roark's persistent whining was forgotten.

"What do you mean? What weird thing?"

"...Now that's just not nice."

"Shaddap, Roark," Brendan finally yelled.

"Pika! Pika--" Wizard cut himself off when the dust truly started clearing.

Though it took a few more seconds, the battlefield cleared. Mecha Mewtwo was standing next to its Trainer. That, however, wasn't Giovanni's current concern.

"What is this?!" he screamed out from behind clenched teeth. He was boiling with anger.

"...Biiii..."

"It's that thing! I heard that thing before!" Brendan announced.

Dawn lay safely on the ground, completely untouched. Surrounding her was a protective barrier, given by none other than the protector of the forest...

"...Celebi." Giovanni spat on the ground.

The barrier dropped. Celebi floated downwards, gently landing on the side of Dawn's head. It began panting, tired from protecting the girl for so long. "Biii, Celebiiii..."

Dusk was completely immobilized. He stared at the untouched girl in absolute awe. Mecha Mewtwo's attack was so devastating, yet she hadn't received a single scratch because of it.

Before much else could take place, another Pokémon floated into the scene from the other side of the mountain where it was hiding. It was tiny and incredibly pink. It did a barrel roll in the air and giggled. "Mewmew!"

May gasped. "That's the cute thing that Lucari--"

Mew tapped her on the shoulder, somehow causing her mind to instantly freeze. She crashed to the ground, landing on her side, unconscious.

"May!" Brendan quickly exclaimed, ducking down to help her. "Stop randomly falling to the ground unconscious! It's getting old!"

Mew happily floated over to Dawn and repeated the process. It and Celebi held a short conversation, ending with Mew giggling once more.

"Anything else?" Roark folded his arms, annoyed by all the sudden ingrates.

"...B-Brendan...?" May slowly opened her squinting eyes back up. She quickly sat up and shook her head. "What was that?"

"Don't know. You just passed out for the third time this week, complete--"

"What?! Where are we?!" May jumped to her feet and scanned the area nervously. "H-How...did we get here? Is this Mount Coronet?"

Brendan sighed. "May, do you have amnesia again?"

"What? No, I...don't think so. Should I?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"We were...walking out of Veilstone, I think." Her head fell into her hand. "Ow...Hurts a little to think back, though..."

Dusk's heart beat a bit faster, though not as quickly as Brendan's. "What? You remember Veilstone?" the younger boy asked.

May blinked. "Uhm...Did I...miss something?"

Brendan threw his arms around May's back. The poor woman was nothing short of utterly confused. "You missed more than what I care to recall right now."

The spotlight shifted from the female Hoenn Trainer to the Sinnoh one, however, as her hands began twitching. Slowly, she picked her head off of the ground and tried to sit up, though she ended up collapsing back to the ground.

Dusk, naturally, quickly dashed over to her, almost tripping over his own feet in the process. "Dawn! Are you okay?"

"How about we run through the really basic questions after you help me up?..." she moaned.

"R-right." Dusk picked up both of her hands and lifted her to her feet.

"Dawn? Are you really feeling better?" Brendan asked.

"I...I think so." Dawn shook her head, forcing herself to wake back up. There was something odd, though. She actually felt her hair hit her neck. "Umbreon...I can...feel things again..."

"What...?"

Dawn rubbed her right hand with her left, then vice versa. "I can't...feel anything with my right arm...But I can with my left! That's good enough. Dusk, I was so afraid I could never be near you again..." The girl quickly enjoyed the comfort she once had by throwing her arms around Dusk's neck. She choked a few times. "...It's over..." she whispered into Dusk's shoulder. "The nightmare...It's over..."

"It's all right. Calm down," he comforted.

"Right..."

"I...don't get it." May was unsurprisingly perplexed. "Why couldn't Dawn feel anything?"

"May..." Brendan chuckled. He finally figured out where May's mind stood. "It's a really long explanation that I'll give you on the way back to Hoenn tonight."

"Hoenn? We're leaving already?"

Everybody else in the room waited patiently. All were a bit surprised that Roark said nothing. Roark being the most surprised of all.

"It's okay, Dawn..." Dusk stroked her back. It'd been too long since he'd done that.

The steadily-calming girl sighed. "Thank you, Umbreon. It's sorta weird, though...I have this really weird feeling in my stomach..."

"It's probably just nerves," Dusk casually answered.

"Don't worry about anything, May," Brendan coached his own partner, "Just roll with the punches."

"I will," May nodded. "But I have to wonder why Dawn has my bandana on..."

"Which kinda reminds me," Dawn interrupted, having overheard the conversation. She walked over to May. After taking the headband off, she handed the material back to its original owner. "Umbreon, why is my bandana soaked in blood and tied around that girl's leg?"

Pikachu realized that she was being referanced. She looked down at her leg, then towards Dusk, and then back at Dawn, this time having a shy smile.

"...Well, isn't this just great," Roark stated, shattering the peace that filled the air whenever he wasn't talking. "All my best friends had all these problems, and nobody told me?"

"Dawn and May, right?" Kartock asked, though he didn't wait for an answer. "Yeah, it's great to have you back and everything, but right now, we got some work to do."

"Kartock?" Dawn blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't worry, Dawn," May comforted, tying her bandana on tightly. "I ain't got a clue what anybody's doing here, or where we even are. All I know is that I see Roark, and he's going down!"

"_'Ain't'?_"Brendan chuckled. He had never heard May use that word before.

Wizard jumped off of Dusk's shoulder and ran over to the amazing legendary Pokémon. "Pika pi, Pikachu?"

"Ewm! Ewm!" Mew giggled, rolling around in the air again.

"_'Ewm'? That's the same thing May said she heard back...in_..." Brendan thought deeply. "_Hope I'm not implying the obvious here, but...Did Mew restore May's memory?_"

Dawn left the Hoenn Trainers and walked up to the Pokémon. Staying careful, she picked Mew up. "Mew? Were you the one that woke me up?"

"Mewmew!" it giggled shyly.

"...Biiiii..."

"Oh! Umbreon, that's what we heard back in Eterna Forest!" Dawn exclaimed. She bent down to it, still holding onto Mew. "Have you been watching us since Eterna Forest?"

"Biiii! Biiii!"

"Well, thank you," Dawn chuckled, nothing short of completely thrilled. She'd been around Rowan long enough to greatly appreciate communicating with Pokémon that most humans never get to see. She stood up and let Mew fly freely, then grabbed her right arm with her left hand. "Umbreon, are you ready?"

"Huh? Ready for what?"

"You know..." She circled around to his back, then put her head on his shoulder. "We've waited a pretty long time to finally tear Team Galactic apart."

"Pika Pi!" Wizard shouted, paying attention to his sensitive ears.

"Somebody else is coming," Dusk repeated in English.

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Roark threw his hands in the air. "Can't we just get to the awesome bloodshedding special effects?"

"Yes, I paid extra for those, and I'd like to see them myself," Giovanni casually tossed in, folding his arms.

"Listen...is that a traitorous voice I hear?"

"It's yelling at me loud and clear..."

For the first time since pretty much ever, Jessie and James revealed themselves before they said their names. They jumped down from a floating hot air balloon above and landed directly in the middle of the battlefield. Naturally, slick poses followed the procedure.

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"Bringing heroic things at a breakneck pace..."

"...Dashing fear, and putting hope in its place!"

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet..."

"...When everything's reversed, our work is complete!"

"Jessie!"

"And James!"

"Putting the backstabbers in their place..."

"Team Rocket..."

Both bent a single knee into the air and pointed at Team Galactic.

"We're in your face!"

Empty, not to mention awkward silence crashed through the area. Roark started imitating the sound of a bird, giving Brendan a quick chuckle.

Still in the same pose, Team Rocket turned to Team Missile. "Well? Aren't you going to start?" Jessie wondered, annoyed.

"Sorry."

"We actually don't have one planned," Dawn finished. "We were kinda too busy doing other stuff."

"Rehash an old one, then!" James scolded.

"Well, we'd need time to work on poses and everything...There's alot of work..." Dusk whined.

"Ugh, fine, then! Be that way. Of all the times they don't steal our material..." Jessie woofed under her breath.

Team Rocket leapt into the air and landed next to Dawn and Dusk. The four blinked at each other for a moment before Dusk finally spoke up.

"Um...What are you doing?"

"We're infiltrating the sun!" James exclaimed, only to be smacked on the back of the head.

"Not now!" Jessie turned to Team Galactic. "We finally found out what Team Galactic's trying to do, and we can't say that we like it."

"Yeah, so suck it!" James pointed a Pokéball at the opposing team.

"Why, isn't this a nice surprise..." Giovanni took a few steps forward, putting his hands inside his pockets. "If it isn't old Jessie and James. You're still alive?"

"Cut the crap, Sir!--I mean, jerk!" James corrected himself, not quite used to not being employed by Giovanni anymore.

"AH, this is so confusing!" May screamed, holding her head. She quickly buried herself into Brendan's shirt, hoping everything would return to the way it was last time she remembered it.

"Don't worry, May..." Brendan rubbed her back affectionately. "...It'll probably only get worse. You know that as well as I do."

"Venus...Mars..." Giovanni started walking towards the two.

Venus set the tape player on the ground, then quickly stood back up straight. "Yes, Sir?"

He put an arm on the back of each of their necks, then led them over to the edge of the cliff, overlooking the grand view of the world that they had. "This planet shall soon be at the best it's ever been. And if it weren't for you two, I could never have made it this far. I thank you for that."

"Of course, Sir," Mars bowed her head.

"Unfortunately, we're pretty close to the end here, and I don't think I'll be needing you anymore. Cheerio." Without an ounce of hesitation inside of him, Giovanni simply pushed both Commanders off of Mount Coronet.

They screamed and, despite everything, hugged each other. Though they may have never gotten along in the past, a sudden mutiny was enough to bring them together.

"Mm..." Giovanni hummed, watching them tumble down the mountain side.

The rest of the group stood in shock, with Roark more shook up than anybody. The mysterious girl growled, though nobody else could hear it.

Suddenly, two Pokéballs were shot into the air from directly off of the cliff. The Pokémon inside were released next to Kartock and Ashley. One, a Skuntank, the other...

"...Purugly..." Dusk's mouth was open. He began recalling his battle with that exact Purugly in his mind. He lowered his beret.

"You all right, kid?"

A hand was placed on his shoulder. And he knew whose it was. "Roark. Kindly get your hand off of me, please."

Brendan spun the turncoat around and put a fist to his face. "What do you think you're doing over here, Roark?!"

"Chill! All right, here's the deal." Roark shifted himself back around and pointed at his father. "I play for the winning team. I'm pretty sure that's going to be the guy with a jacked up robot, but that team might throw me off a mountain, and I happen to like my head being on top of my neck. So I guess I'll give the underdogs a shot this time."

Giovanni, now standing on the side of the field all by himself, started walking back to Mecha Mewtwo. "So, my own son has abandoned me, I see. That's fair enough."

Roark turned to Team Rocket. "So you guys got the memo too, huh?"

"Roark...Providing we can trust you...What's Team Galactic trying to do?" Dawn muttered out cautiously. Roark swearing allegiance meant nothing to her.

"Oh, well that's simple," James answered plainly. "They're going to blow the world up."

A little bit more awkward silence blew across the mountaintop, much like a small wind that did the same thing.

"You know those rants that Venus and Mars kept making, about how we're going to help the world?" Jessie asked. "Well, that's the way we were going to help it, apparently."

"Not eco-friendly in the least," James added, nodding.

"As soon as Pop gets Dialga and Palkia out, he plans on using them to destroy the world, start a new one, and rule over it himself. If that ain't a generic plot, I really couldn't tell you what is."

Giovanni chuckled, which turned into laughter. "Oh, it's simply marvelous, isn't it? Surely it takes a genius to come so far into a plan of this caliber...And I'm not about to let anyone get in my way."

Being so close to him, Dawn felt tension practically rising from Dusk. "Umbreon...are you...okay?"

Dusk decided to throw it all on the line. Dignity included. "...Play the tape."

"What?"

"The tape. My mother gave you a cassette tape, didn't she?"

Giovanni walked over to the tape player and kicked it over to the other group. "Go nuts. I got another half hour to kill."

As Dawn was working on getting the long-forgotten tape set up, Dusk smirked. "I'm actually going to need your help with this one, old man. Up for another song?"

Roark, not caring much about another talent show, walked over to May and put his hand on her shoulder. "So, Brendan's girlfriend, how've you been?"

"...I wouldn't know," she replied slowly, feeling uncomfortable with Roark being so close.

"Umbreon, what's on this tape?" Dawn asked, still working on figuring the contraption out. She had never used a cassette tape a day in her life.

"I think I know who this guy is. The voice, the song...I recognize it from somewhere. This is going to answer my question."

Kartock turned to Brendan, giving him an 'are-you-serious' look.

The music began playing. Within the first three beats, Giovanni recognized it and smiled.

"_You're way out of your league,_

_You've more than met your match!_"

Dusk hid his hands inside of his pockets. He couldn't believe he was doing this in front of not only his friends, but his enemies as well. The only thing to keep him going was seeing Giovanni play along with it.

"_I guess you're slowin' down, old man,_

_Can't hit what you can't catch!_"

"_Soon the whole world will fall_

_To the genius of my plan!_"

"_I will find a way to stop you,_

_Any way I can!_"

Two beats. Everybody in the background was blinking their eyes, every one of them silently assuming that they were losing their sanity.

"_You're such a goody-two-shoes!_

_Don't you know it's more fun being bad?_"

"_No one'll waste their time with you,_

_You're stark-ravin' mad!_"

"_Oh yeah?_" He pointed to Team Rocket.

"_Just ask your friends there_."

"_That's all in the past!_"

"_Listen to me, annoying boy._

_Nice guys...finish last!_"

Dawn couldn't look away if she tried. And she definitely tried. "_Erm...How often does Umbreon listen to this music?_"

"_OH, NO!_" both shouted.

"_You just can't win_," Dusk continued.

"_You're not that strong_."

"_Time to pay for your sins!_" Dusk smirked. He loved that line.

"_You couldn't be more wrong._

_You just can't win_."

"_I'm gonna shut you down_."

"_Your chances are slim!_"

"_I'm done fooling around_..."

Both took the finishing lines.

"_Let the battle begin..._

_...You just can't win!_"

With the very last beat, Mew used Explosion in the background, adding an overexposure of drama to the scene. It used Recover and giggled.

Roark clapped. Though, he was the only one that did, so it was rather odd.

Dusk ignored the ego-shattering amount of awkwardness and actually worked himself up to a smirk. "I thought I recognized that song you started earlier. You're the same person who co-starred _Pokémon Live!_,aren't you?"

Dawn slapped herself in the face. "_Please tell me he's kidding. Please_."

"Why, that'd be correct. Pretend villain, all the way up to here, hm? Worthless prop..." Giovanni slammed his hand on Mecha Mewtwo's body armor. "To the real thing." He chuckled. "Oh, it's been a long decade, but I'm still here. I'm quite excited to meet a dear fan. It has been quite some time since I've given out autographs."

Dusk let Giovanni talk. "Wizard, on the bench. We'll need you later."

"Pikachu." Wizard, slightly disappointed that he'd have to wait for his turn, complied. He raced forward and climbed up his Trainer, finally stopping on his shoulder.

Dawn ignored the tape player and hugged Dusk from the side. "_So what if he's an attention whore? I still lo-lo_..." She sighed. She still couldn't get herself to say it with much success.

"Uh, yo, pals? I think we got one last surprise," Roark alerted.

Everybody turned to Roark. When they found him pointing his finger at the mysterious girl, they turned to her instead. Her body was radiating with blinding light.

Brendan leaned forward to reach Dusk's ear. "Hey, Umbry, I think she's evolving," he whispered.

Dusk chuckled.

Soon, the light dispelled. After one last flash of brightness, she'd stopped glowing completely.

"Dah, geez, it's like when cousins come to visit," Roark moaned, rubbing his eyes. "I hate cameras!"

Kartock was the smartest one. He was the only one with sunglasses on.

Everybody's sight finally returned to normal. Instead of seeing a girl, however, a beautiful, red Dragon Pokémon was hovering in the air gently above the ground.

May gasped. "I've...seen one of them before. It's--"

"**Latias, the Eon Pokémon. Latias are capable of turning invisible using their down. They have the ability to transform into female humans. Latias are capable of seeing through the eyes of a Latios that it is closely bonded with. However, a Soul Dew is necessary for this event to take place.**"

Dawn slid her Pokédex back into her bag without taking her eyes off of the amazing Pokémon standing before her. "Latias..." she whispered in awe.

Dusk scratched the back of his head. "So she was...a Pokémon?"

Latias screeched loudly as she took Dawn's bandana over to Dusk. After he grabbed the cloth, Latias rubbed her head on Dusk's cheek gratefully.

"Th-Thank you..." Dusk handed the bandana back to its actual owner. "It's...kinda damp."

Dawn laughed as she took it back. "Ah, it's just somebody else's blood. I doubt there could be that many germs on it, right?" She tied it around her hair again. It felt a little weird, knowing that most of her headgear was red instead of white, but she put it out of her mind as she returned focus to Giovanni.

"That's it! I'm sick'a standing here!" Jun stated, punching his fists together. He enlarged a Pokéball. "No more singing! Let's dance!"


	23. Bringing the Galaxy Down to Earth, Pt4

"Well, then? Let's see what you've got," Giovanni taunted.

Ten different Pokéballs were launched into the air at once. Moonite, Sunnite, Blaziken, Sceptile, Alakazam, Rapidash, Seviper, Chimecho, Rampardos, and Milotic all stood in front of their Trainers. Mecha Mewtwo wouldn't lay a hand on the humans if the Pokémon had anything to say about it. Kartock volunteered to use the Skuntank, while Ashley took the Purugly. Celebi, Mew, and Latias rose up into the sky, creating a dual battle.

Giovanni laughed maniacally. "I must say, you have an impressive lot of Pokémon here. I'm forced to wonder why you even want that monkey thing back when you have that beast, little boy."

Dawn looked at Dusk, somewhat confused. She raised her eyebrow when she realized that her teammate no longer had a Quilava. "Wait, that's Moonite?"

Dusk returned the look with a short smile. "Moonite evolved on the way up here."

Dawn turned her head in a different direction. "I fall down one mountain, and your entire team changes..." she mumbled quietly.

"What was that?" Dusk returned, thinking he had heard her say something.

Before she could answer, Jun exclaimed, "You really think you can win?! C'mon! We got...like...a bunch more Pokémon than you do! Just give it up, you old codger!"

Giovanni scoffed. "You're no match for me. You couldn't beat me in a hundred years!"

"...Oh, shoot! If only Tails had any good lines in that game, I woulda paid attention to them," Brendan said, pounding his head with his hand. He got a curious glance out of May, but the rest of the group ignored him.

"Mecha Mewtwo, let's show them that numbers has nothing over power. Launch attack!" Giovanni commanded. "Your target is the girl next to beret boy there."

Dawn moved to Dusk's back and gripped the front of his waist tightly. It wasn't pleasant to get picked out of every single target; especially when he's supposed to be battling the Pokémon.

"You aren't going to get touched, Dawn. Moonite, Flamethrower!"

"Sceptile, Razor Leaf!"

"Blaziken, Double Kick!"

Dawn was too paralyzed to issue a command.

Mecha Mewtwo weaved out of every single Flamethrower attempt. Moonite tried altering the flame's course, but the robotic Pokémon still found a way to dodge. Sceptile tried covering him with Razor Leaf, possibly forcing Mecha Mewtwo to pick which attack to get hit by. The plan worked, but not the way Sceptile wanted it to. Mecha Mewtwo began charging straight through the sword-sharp leaves without taking a single scratch--the body armor was taking all the hits.

Knowing she was the last line of defense, Blaziken hopped into the air and straight at Mecha Mewtwo, ready to use her own command. The attack managed to connect, denting Mecha Mewtwo's head armor. It was sent skidding back a few feet. However, it concentrated for a moment, and the dent was quickly removed by psychic power. Ignoring his Trainer's original command, Mecha Mewtwo began attacking Blaziken with furious punches.

"Shouldn't Psychic-type Pokémon generally stick with special attacks?" Brendan wondered, mostly rhetorically.

Giovanni folded his arms and laughed. "You're forgetting that Mecha Mewtwo is DNA from Mewtwo, which is just DNA from Mew, who has the DNA of every single Pokémon inside of it! Mecha Mewtwo could dance like a Ludicolo if it wanted to..."

"How's this for a special attack? Tuven, Shadow Ball that thing!" Kartock ordered.

"Shenia, lend assistance. Ember." Ashley put her hands behind her back and watched the battle commence with a touch of disinterest.

"Guess we're not the only ones to nickname our Pokémon, Dawn," Dusk smirked, hoping it'd help take Dawn's mind off of being attacked. It didn't work. The girl was shivering, and it wasn't because of the cold. Dusk began petting her arm, hoping maybe that'd help.

The nicknamed Alakazam and Rapidash launched their given commands at once. The Embers got trapped inside the Shadow Ball, combining the might of the attack into one. Mecha Mewtwo forgot about Blaziken and flew into the air, causing the Shadow Ball to miss and explode on a fallen pillar in the distance.

Since the only rival was now in the air, it was time for the legendary Pokémon to battle. Celebi chanted, causing an invisible Barrier to form around the three Pokémon to help safeguard against Mecha Mewtwo's attacks. Mew began concentrating its energy into a worldly-blue ball that began forming in its hands. It only got bigger as time continued.

Mecha Mewtwo tried to interrupt, but ran into an invisible Latias. She revealed herself and immediately shot a Dragon Pulse at the foe, but it teleported out of the way and landed behind Celebi, quickly nailing the forest creature with a high-power Fire Punch. It was sent flying, but managed to stop its momentum by itself and use Synthesis to recover the damage.

Ashley dropped her gaze from the sky, setting it instead on her Rapidash. "We must not stand idly by. Shenia, use Bounce, then Megahorn once you reach the target."

"Mirokarosu, fire a few Ice Beams up there, wouldja?!" Jun pointed at the hovering enemy.

"Mirokarosu?" May blinked.

"Yep. I got Milotic from some nice Japanese guy that traded it for a Bidoof on the GTS. Haha!"

"GT...S?" May stared blankly at sea dragon.

Shenia virtually flew into the air, trying to hit Mecha Mewtwo with every single attempt it could make, though it never connected. Gravity forced it to land back to the ground, but it quickly jumped back up and tried again. Mirokarosu took blind shots into the air with Ice Beam, causing a bit of frost to fall back down to the earth. The attack itself, however, also just couldn't connect with its target.

"This...is not working," Ashley stated. "Perhaps we could try an alternate method to reach our rival, though we will need smaller Pokémon to do it."

"Ka, Pikachu!" Wizard volunteered.

"Umbreon..." Dawn whispered at a nearly inaudible volume. "You won't...let go of me, will you?"

Dusk remembered her saying words similar to those back in Oreburgh City. The nostalgia made him smile before answering. "Never."

The hands around Dusk's waist fell. Instead, his hand was quickly grabbed. Dawn stepped out to his side. "Sunnite, are you ready?"

"Luxio, lux..." Sunnite stopped licking her paw and stood firm.

Ashley let out a very small smirk. "Sir Brendan, Miss May...Since our last meeting, I have come to understand that you are rather revered in the art of Pokémon Contests in the Hoenn region."

Dusk and Dawn looked at the Coordinators. "You're--"

"Oh, it's nothing!" May waved her arms in the air, tossing the subject aside. She threw in a fake laugh, hoping it would help something. "We're not really that good..."

Saving May, and stopping the Sinnoh Trainers before they pressed the subject further, Ashley continued, "The key to succeeding in Pokémon Contests is commonly to think outside the normal battle strategy of purely attacking your opponent. Perhaps you two are aware of this alternate method I have spoken of?"

"Uh..." Brendan looked up into the sky. The legendary Pokémon were still exchanging blows, but something falling and glittering soon caught his attention. "...The Ice Beam?"

"That is correct. Perhaps if Sir Jun's Mirokarosu was to launch an appropriate-temperature Ice Beam into the air, smaller Pokémon could scurry up the makeshift platform and be at a closer range to attack this...Mecha Mewtwo." Ashley turned her head to the Hoenn Trainers and smiled. "Though, I am sure I do not need to explain the strategy to such great Coordinators as yourselves."

"'Great'?" Dawn repeated. "But you just said--"

"That sounds like a great plan to me, Ashley!" May exclaimed in a somewhat higher volume than she normally spoke in.

Dusk and Dawn shared their expression with one another. A quick look at Brendan showed that the remaining Hoenn Trainer had his eyes shifted to the side, apparently watching Roark. The Sinnoh Trainers returned to each other and shrugged.

It wasn't long until the plan got underway. Mirokarosu launched a steady Ice beam, creating a staircase of frozen water straight up into the atmosphere. It wasn't going to last for long, so the Pokémon reacted quickly. Wizard, Sunnite, and Seviper climbed their way up. Chimecho floated up itself. Brendan released Chatot, which carried Dawn's Charmy in its talons all the way up to the airborne battle as well.

"Be careful, Charmy!" Dawn screamed.

They all reached the top. Chatot set Charmy on the ice for a moment to recover, but soon picked him back up and began circling around the legendary Pokémon, giving the penguin all types of different shots.

"Use Bubblebeam!"

"Piplupluplupluplup!!" Charmy launched an onslaught of bubbles at Mecha Mewtwo.

"Piplupluplupluplup!" Chatot repeated, though unfortunately, no bubbles were sent out of its mouth.

Mecha Mewtwo turned its head to see the bubbles coming at it. It teleported behind Chatot and shot it with a single close-range Hydro Pump. The blast of water was enough to send Chatot plummeting towards the ground, with Charmy hanging onto it for dear life. They crashed into the wasteland of Spear Pillar, causing a massive cloud of dust particles to soar into the air.

Mecha Mewtwo turned back and began charging for Celebi, but was struck by two Thunderbolts before it could reach the protector of the forest. A rapid cluster of Poison Sting needles began stinging it as well. To add to the injury, Psywaves also began swerving into Mecha Mewtwo's body.

"That's my Chimecho!" James bragged.

Dawn and Brendan looked at each other before recalling the two Pokémon. "Sorry, Dawn," Brendan apologized. "I saw it in Sonic 3 once, and figured, why not?"

Mecha Mewtwo was finished dealing with all these interruptions. He let out a dog whistle-type Screech attack that only the Pokémon could hear. Wizard and Sunnite pulled their hands over their ears, Seviper coiled into a ball, and Chimecho nosedived back down to the ground. Being free of the nuisance's attacks, Mecha Mewtwo shot a Zap Cannon at the ice, shattering it.

Dawn, Dusk, and Jessie gasped as they watched their defenseless Pokémon fall from the air, after having the platform they were standing on be broken. Dusk and Dawn caught their Pokémon before they crashed into the ground. Jessie also attempted to grab hers as well, but it turned out to be a bit heavier than she was waiting for, and ended up getting taken to the ground with it. "Ugh, stupid snake thing..." Jessie rubbed her head. "Return." A Pokéball was held up, beaming Seviper back inside. Dawn set Sunnite on the ground and reached for Dusk's hand again.

"...Mewmew."

Mecha Mewtwo turned his head to the Pokémon. It had a wide smile on its face.

The chi that it had been charging up earlier was finished. The orb was now triple the size of the creature that had created it. That didn't stop the Mew, however, from easily pushing it towards Mecha Mewtwo. The attack collided and sent the receiver soaring into the ground below. The ground shook as the man-made Pokémon slammed into it, sliding all the way over to Giovanni.

He was frowning. "...Well done, I suppose. I see you don't plan on rolling over and dying like the people in that worthless town did."

Dawn felt the grip on her hand squeeze tighter. She knew that Dusk took the loss of Celestic Town hard, and hearing Giovanni mock it like it was nothing possibly hurt even more.

Mecha Mewtwo stood back up. Its mechanical body armor was short circuiting. However, once more, just a matter of concentration fixed the problem immediately. It waited in silence while the Trainers growled in frustration.

"Biiiiii...!"

Latias screeched in response. She, followed by the other two, flew back down to the group, ending the double-front.

"Can I get a line yet? Oh, cool!" Roark pointed at the standing opponent. "All right Rampardos, it's our turn! Let's give the rust bucket a solid Head Smash!"

"Ram, PARdos!" the evolved form of Cranidos screamed. It began charging head-first toward Mecha Mewtwo.

Half way to the target, it stopped. It was still running, but it wasn't moving anywhere. Mecha Mewtwo lifted its hand up, causing Rampardos to go flying high into the air, well above where the air battle had previously taken place.

"Just because Mecha Mewtwo knows attacks from every single type of Pokémon, doesn't mean it can't use some Psychic attacks if it's necessary." Giovanni put his arms on his waist and laughed. "Sorry, sonny, but you're going to have to do better than that."

Roark lifted his index finger into the air. "Will this work?"

While Mecha Mewtwo was busy dealing with Rampardos, Latias sneaked over to its side by turning invisible. Being nearly right next to the creature, Latias let out a piercing Hyper Beam, sending Mecha Mewtwo flying off of the mountain. It completely disappeared from sight.

Giovanni grunted. "Teamwork will get you nowhere in my new world."

Mecha Mewtwo rose back up from the cliff, though there was a difference--the armor had been shattered by the Hyper Beam. There was nothing 'mecha' about it anymore. Mewtwo landed on the ground in front of its Trainer, panting, but very anxious to continue battling.

"Perfect! I see your training weights have been taken off, Mewtwo. Now we can really have some fun with these fools."

"Training weights?!" Brendan shouted.

Dawn whimpered and hugged Dusk from the side. She knew that Giovanni still wanted her. Dusk also knew it, so he wrapped an arm around Dawn's body, allowing him to still keep Giovanni in sight.

Jun put his hand on Dawn's shoulder. Brendan did the same with the other one. May began rubbing her back. Kartock and Ashley moved their positions so they could defend Dawn as well. Team Rocket moved next to the Hoenn Trainers, and Roark stepped to the opposite side of Jun. All were ready to protect Dawn from Giovanni and Mewtwo, no matter the history that they've had with each other.

Though she couldn't verbally express it, she knew that everybody was beside her. She tried to push herself closer to Umbreon, who kept her in his one-armed hug. While grateful, she was shy since she had become the center of attention. "Thank you..." she mumbled weakly.

"Isn't this nice. Mewtwo, let's test how much they're willing to sacrifice for the girl. Capture her!"

One step, then another. Slowly, Mewtwo creeped closer to the group. His glowing eyes were set on Dawn, and not once did they move.

Brendan looked up in the sky. Rampardos was finally starting to fall back down to earth again. He glanced over to Roark and smirked. The Gym Leader did the same. Brendan turned back to Sceptile and cleared his throat. "All right, Sceptile. Get up there and give Rampardos a boost!"

"Scep. Tile." Sceptile jumped off the ground and high into the air. He smacked Rampardos downwards with his tail, adding even more speed to the heavy Rock-type's fall.

"Rampardos, Hammer Arm!" Roark ordered.

Before another two seconds could pass, Rampardos crashed into Spear Pillar with an extended hand. The limb reached out just far enough to take Mewtwo down to the ground with it. Being crushed by a falling boulder normally would have ended the battle, but Mewtwo's strength was seemingly unstoppable. It used its psychic powers to pick Rampardos back up and shoot it into Sceptile, causing both to tumble to the ground. Mewtwo stood up and Recovered, then continued walking as if nothing had happened.

"Your defensive strategy to protect the girl has a flaw. You forgot about the back."

Mewtwo instantly warped behind the entire line, gaining a clear shot at Dawn's blind side. Atleast, it would have been a clear shot if there weren't three grinning faces looking Mewtwo down like an insect.

"Pika, chu."

"Torchic, Torchic!"

"Misdreavus..."

Stunned, Mewtwo couldn't get out of the way fast enough to dodge the incoming Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, and Night Shade. Every single attack connected, bringing Mewtwo to its knees.

Too many times they've made this mistake, and they weren't going to let it happen again. Most of the group spun around, only to see a very vulnerable Mewtwo. Dawn hadn't moved from her position of hugging Dusk.

"Don't let this thing recover, Metagross! Meteor Mash!" Brendan launched another Pokéball into the fray.

"Umbreon!" Jun called out.

Habitually, Dusk turned his head.

Jun also released another Pokémon. "Use Faint Attack!"

Dusk stifled a laugh after he realized that Jun was talking to his Pokémon. He calmed down with Jun's creature formed, allowing Dusk to closely examine the Pokémon he was named after. "_So that's an Umbreon...Cool._"

"Weezing, Sludge Bomb!" James followed suit.

"Time to wake these two up. Skuntank, Night Slash!" Kartock commanded.

The attacks piled up as Ashley continued the onslaught. "Purugly, proceed with Bite."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want Mewtwo taking all those attacks without its armor on. This is where we split the game back up." Giovanni launched three Pokéballs into the air, causing them to appear on the backside of the Trainers.

They were trapped.

"Isn't this fun?" Giovanni commented. "Nidoking, Thrash. Rhydon, Horn Drill. Victreebel, Vine Whip!"

"There's so many, Umbreon..." Dawn buried her head deeper into Dusk's shirt.

"We still got our first line of defense," he promised, turning his head back to the first group of Pokémon. "Moonite, use Flame Wheel on Victreebel!"

"Mirokarosu, soak Rhydon with Water Gun!" Jun commanded.

"Tuven, stop Nidoking with Psychic!" Kartock continued.

No extra commentary from Team Galactic's boss was necessary to realize that the battle was starting to get confusing. With Moonite, Mirokarosu, Tuven, Shenia, Sunnite, Chimecho, Blaziken, and a near-fainted Sceptile and Rampardos on one side, and Wizard, Torchic, Berlitz, Skuntank, Purugly, Metagross, Umbreon and Weezing on the other, there was alot to pay attention to.

So much, in fact, that the Pokémon hesitated with their orders, which gave Mewtwo enough time to warp away to Giovanni's side again. However, the original form had other plans.

Mew sideswiped Mewtwo straight off the ground, forcing yet another aerial battle, this one being off the side of the mountain. As those two exchanged blows, Mew making sure that Mewtwo never got a chance to Recover, the Pokémon from one side joined the other, creating a horribly uneven seventeen-on-three battle.

Giovanni's three Pokémon flinched and stepped back. It was hard for them to stand firm with thirty-four eyes staring them down. They finally high-tailed it back to their Trainer, gathering around him, hoping to receive some massive advice that would take all of the other Pokémon down.

The gang laughed as they recalled most of their Pokémon. The only ones left on the field were Moonite, Berlitz, Metagross, Blaziken, Umbreon, Rampardos, Weezing, Skuntank, and Purugly, cutting the amount in half. Wizard had to admit that he was disappointed that Torchic was recalled, but he knew that it'd be safer for her in there. He jumped on top of Dawn's head, causing her to smile.

"Enough of this nonsense!" Giovanni slashed his hand through the air. "Mewtwo, release Shadow Ball!"

Mewtwo ducked under Mew's Focus Punch. It knew that Giovanni didn't want Mewtwo to attack its current rival with Shadow Ball--he wanted Dawn. The Genetic Pokémon quickly powered up a rotating black orb and launched it directly at Dawn.

Celebi floated down in front of it and used Protect, but it wasn't enough. Though it was helping to halt the progress of the attack, it wasn't nearly enough to stop it.

Dusk saw this and lowered his beret, a slight smirk on his face. "Dawn...I'm not going to let you get hurt. Wizard's in your care, all ri--"

"Get ott'a the way, ya freakin' toothpick!" Roark shoved Dusk and Dawn to the ground, then caught the incoming Celebi with his hands. He pushed against it, trying to help Celebi stand its ground against the Shadow Ball.

That didn't work, either. Celebi's Protective barrier shattered, and it took the hit dead-on. The force was so strong, Celebi was knocked back into Roark, who was swiftly blown straight off the mountain. Roark had taken all of the pressure on purpose, however, forcing Celebi's advancement to come to a halt and allowing the Pokémon to stay on the mountain. The ex- Gym Leader was no longer in sight.

Brendan ran over to the edge of the cliff. "That son of a...well, Giovanni is still alive. You know that, right?" He bent down and picked the withered Celebi up from the ground. It was unconscious, and if it didn't receive help, wouldn't make it. He ran back over to the rest of the group, hoping someone would have a plan.

"Mm...So my son took the blow just to save the person he was trying to kill two weeks ago." Giovanni laughed loudly. "And he's the one accusing me of having generic plans?"

Dusk slowly picked himself off the ground. "Roark..." he began aloud, "We meet again...I'm still going to hate you just as much as I did before." He offered Dawn a hand to get up. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Dawn accepted the hand and got up. "I landed on my right arm. Couldn't feel a thing."

"Excuse me, Miss...Dawn."

Dawn turned to Ashley. "Mm?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Ashley saw Kartock turn his head away. She kept her gaze on Dawn anyway. "As I told your comrades, I may be of service to you. It is possible, perhaps probable, that I will be able to help you with your feeling of numbness. After we finish with Team Galactic, we shall see..." She smiled. "...who is still left standing."

Dawn gave Dusk a quick look, then went back to Ashley. "...Oh. Sure. That'd be great!"

"Pika! Pika Pika! Pika Pi!" Wizard shouted.

"There's...wait, what?" Though attempted, Dusk failed in interpreting the Pokémon.

Wizard fell into deep thought, concentrating on something only Pokémon could sense, apparently. The remaining Pokémon also fell silent, minus Mew and Mewtwo, who were too busy dealing with each other to pay much attention to anything else. The unconscious Celebi wasn't in a condition to pay attention to it either.

"What? What is this?! Why are you all just standing here?!" Giovanni scolded. "Nidoking, Victreebel, Rhydon, attack them!"

"Umbreon? You all right, buddy?" Jun bent down to his Pokémon and shook its fur vigorously.

Besides the grunts and moans of the remaining two brawling Pokémon, silence filled the rest of the mountain for quite some time. May took Celebi from Brendan and began dancing around with it, making a remark about doing so with a Manaphy years ago.

Nearly twenty minutes passed without any of the Pokémon moving once, and if it weren't for Dusk, Dawn, Brendan, and Kartock coming up with various insults about Giovanni's hair, no noise would have been heard at all. Though incredibly dangerous for the team, as it gave Mewtwo a chance to Recover, Mew also fell victim to the majestic concentration. Mewtwo paid attention to it as well, though its eyes were open and on Mew, making sure it wasn't trying some trick.

Not much more time passed. Without any warning, a massive warphole appeared behind Giovanni.

He had only a moment to realize it before an equally large, red hand reached out of the portal and pushed him off of Spear Pillar. He landed in the side of another nearby mountain, crashing through it. The snow on its peak fell down, covering the hole.

All of it took place in under three-fourths of a second.

Another wormhole appeared next to the first one.

Though bitter rivals just moments ago, Mew and Mewtwo looked at each other, then flew over to the rest of the shocked group. They turned back around to face the warping points, and whatever may come out of them.

A few seconds passed without much change. "...In honor of Roark, I'll say it. Is the added drama really necessary?" Brendan asked.

As if they could hear those words, two absolutely fearsome Pokémon stepped out of the warpholes and growled loudly. They were so enormous, the growl echoed throughout all of Mount Coronet. It was near ear-shattering to be on the opposite side of a platform of them.

May held Brendan's arm tightly, though she also kept a firm grip on Celebi. Dawn was too busy staring at the creatures in total fear to think about running to Dusk. The rest of the group either gasped or growled back at them.

They leaned forward to the group and roared one more time.

Both Dusk's and Dawn's hearts were racing as they looked at each other. Silently, they agreed to take out their Pokédexs and scan the creatures, though they were rather sure that they already knew what they were.

"**Dialga, the Temporal Pokémon. No further data known.**"

"**Palkia, the Spatial Pokémon. No further data known.**"


	24. Wrath of the Deities

"J-J...J-J-James...You don't...suppose they're...friendly, do you?"

"...I don't think so, Jessie..."

Team Rocket hugged each other and squealed.

"You must hurry!" a very gruff voice said.

The team looked up into the sky, where the voice had come from, to see Mewtwo looking back down at them.

"Dialga and Palkia are the very gods of this land," Mewtwo began explaining. "And it appears as though my master has angered them. You must get off this mountain!"

"_Man, that voice seems familiar..._" Brendan scratched his chin. "...Shouldn't you be winning the card game tournament?"

"Mewmew! Ewm! Ewm!" Mew shook its head.

"No...This is my duty. If it weren't for my master attempting to destroy this land, the gods wouldn't be angered like this. I must now pay for my master's sins."

Dialga and Palkia roared once more. They began walking over to the group. Every single step they took shook the ground.

"Please, you must leave this place at once!" Mewtwo pointed at the exit. "I will hold them off while you make your escape!"

"But Mewtwo...how will you--" May was interrupted.

"You mustn't worry about me. I shall be fine."

"Mew! Mewmewmew!"

"No, it is unthinkable!" Mewtwo spun its tail in the air. "You must save yourself, Mew!"

"...Ewm."

"Mm...if that is what you wish, you may help me. But be on guard!"

A faint soaring sound could be heard in the distance. They got closer, and eventually stopped when they got to the side of Dusk. The familiar Dragon-type Pokémon turned off it's cloak and screeched merrily.

"Latias!" Dusk exclaimed, glad to see her back again. "Where did you sneak off to...? Anyway, would it be okay if we got on your back and you flew us down?"

Latias nodded.

"But she can't take all of us..." Dusk muttered to himself. "Dawn, May, and...Ashley. Get on Latias!" Dusk ordered.

All the Pokémon were recalled, and time was running short. Dialga and Palkia were getting closer to them with every passing second. Team Rocket had gratefully already taken Mewtwo's advice and scrambled into the cavern.

Dusk knew the women probably wouldn't go along with the plan, so he continued. "Latias can't take all of us. We'd be too heavy."

"Umbreon, I'm not leaving you!" Dawn fell into Dusk's arms.

"I thank you for the offer, but I must also decline," Ashley stated.

Brendan growled. "...C'mon, May!" He grabbed her hand and jumped on Latias, then helped May get on it too. The dragon seemed to have trouble compensating for the weight at first, but she still seemed confident. "Room for one more. Get up here, Jun!"

"Yes! Dibs on shotgun!" Jun put his Pokéball back on his belt and hopped on Latias.

Dusk pulled Dawn away from him. "Dawn, you can't go back into the mountain. Your Coronosis--"

"I don't care, Umbreon!" She forced her way back to him. "I'm not going to take the easy way out while I have to worry about you getting chased by a seventeen-foot dinosaur!"

He froze, surprised by Dawn's reasoning. "...Dawn, I..."

"I really hate to interrupt here, but we gotta go." Kartock slapped Dusk in the back of the head to snap him back to reality, then tore off into Mount Coronet.

Ashley hesitated, then followed.

"Go, Dusk!" Brendan coached. "We're running out of time here! Just go!"

Latias took off and began soaring whimsically down Mount Coronet.

"Please, listen to your friend..." Mewtwo begged.

"...F-fine. Come on, Dawn!" He grabbed her hand and also left for the cave.

Mewtwo smiled at Mew. "If we can give them just enough time to get off this mountain, then the gods should calm down. Thank you for helping me."

Mew spun in the air, giggling. "Ewm ewm!"

The clone turned back around to face the gods of Sinnoh. "Now...let us summon Exodia the Forbi--"

"'Bout freakin' time!" Kartock yelled. He had been waiting for the other two at the entrance.

"Sorry," Dawn apologized, starting to get nervous. "We just--"

"Great. Let's go." Kartock continued running.

The four continued dancing through the first of three floors without much hindrance, until Ashley tripped over a rock on the ground.

"You all right, Ashley?" Kartock gave her his hand.

"I am...well. I do not recall this being here before." She observed the strange, metallic rock that she had tripped over. It almost looked as though it was once alive, but it was currently fainted.

Dusk chuckled. "Uhm...Sorry. That one might be my bad."

Kartock slowly turned to the boy. "Do you...always carry a steel rock that's the size of my staircase with you?"

The answer was interrupted by a quaking of the ground. They soon remembered what they were doing and continued bolting through the black cave.

"Umbreon...You do think that...Latias made it back down safely, don't you?"

Dusk thought for a moment before responding to Dawn's question. "I think it's better to ask if Jun will still be there by the time we get outside."

Dawn laughed. "Probably not."

As their hearts began rejoicing upon seeing the exit to the first floor, a loud explosion, followed by an all too familiar roar echoed through the cave. The four looked back to see Dialga and Palkia towering inside the entrance to the cave.

"If that's as long as Mewtwo could stall them, remind me to never get on these things' bad sides again," Kartock requested, keeping his running rhythm perfect.

Ashley's movement slowed to a walk, which turned to a complete stop, forcing the rest of the group to halt as well. "Ashley, what do you think you're doing?!" her leader yelled.

"Sir...It has been an honor working for you. Perhaps this shall turn out better than I am expecting, and we shall see each other again."

After the way that Ashley had worded her sentence, it was inevitable that the Sinnoh Trainers wondered if her relationship with Kartock extended further than they thought it did. Neither thought that this was a good time to inquire about it.

"For now, I must give you time to escape." Ashley spun around to face the bone-chilling legendaries. "Miss Dawn, I must apologize to you. If I fall now, I cannot help your arm to heal. I shall be praying for you."

"Uhm, thanks..." Dawn said quietly, still a bit foggy about what Ashley was doing.

Kartock adjusted his sunglasses. "...C-c'mon. Let's get out of here." He seemed to run faster than ever as he managed to be the first to get outside.

Time passed, and the only thing that moved was the gods, which were coming closer to them. "...You are not moving," Ashley reminded the remaining two.

"We can't just leave you here!" Dawn exclaimed. "That's not what--"

"The longer you stay here, the more pointless my staying here is." Ashley's head was low. A part of her wanted to be left alone. The other part didn't. "You may think of us as bounty hunters. Yes, that is what allows us to bring in paychecks every week. However, our organization is one that also helps people, sometimes, no matter what the cost. I have been a part of this organization for the past six months, and I am willing to make that sacrifice today."

"Or...Organization?" Dawn repeated, still mystified.

"...We don't have a choice." Dusk grabbed Dawn by the hand and ran after Kartock.

Ashley smiled at the two Pokémon as they slowly stepped closer to her. "It is only fair to warn you that I have faced many fearsome beasts before. Two more do not scare me so much."

----------------------

"Umbreon, what...are you doing?! You don't feel terrible for leaving a single girl to stand up to two Pokémon like Dialga and Palkia?!"

"I do feel horrible for that. But if we don't keep going, we're going to be too dead to care."

Dawn choked, but tried to keep up with Dusk anyway. They were already into the second cave, and Kartock could be seen a bit in the distance. The scenery was much the same as it was the first time through; however, rubble was beginning to fall from various places due to all the earthquakes above.

Kartock suddenly stopped and waited for the two to catch up. "Are you two holding up?"

"Yeah, we're fine..." Dawn panted out. "Actually, I'm kinda worried about you...You and Ashley were so close, and--"

"We're nearing the second exit, but I think there's a bit of a blockade up ahead. Looks like a couple stupid bats and rocks."

Dawn groaned. "_I_ _shouldn't be surprised that he doesn't want to talk about it_..."

They reached the current destination, and as Kartock had guessed, the exit was being blocked. A Zubat, Geodude, and Machop stood in the way.

"Geodude! Geodude!" the Pokémon taunted.

"Wizard, Thunderbolt Zubat!" Dusk commanded.

Without even being bothered enough to move from his Trainer's shoulder, Wizard charged up electricity inside of his cheeks and fired a bolt of lightning straight at the blue-colored bat.

"Skuntank, take Machop out with Sludge Bomb!"

Venus' Skuntank listened to the Trainer and fired a ball-shaped wad of toxic brew at the Fighting-type Pokémon.

"Berlitz, use Magical Leaf to rip Geodude apart!" Dawn shot a Pokéball spinning through the air.

Berlitz was released, but instead of attacking, it looked around the area blankly. "Misdreavus?"

"What's...wrong?" Dawn blinked.

The Pokémon shook it off. "Misdreavus, Misdrea!" She returned to her previous order and shot a series of leaves straight at the opposing Rock-type Pokémon.

"What worthless distractions..." Kartock cursed as all three fell to each attack. He turned his head towards the direction he had came from. "Sounds like Ashley's doing a decent job of keeping them at bay."

Dusk concentrated for a moment, but ended up with nothing. "I don't hear anything," he confessed.

"Exactly." There was a pause for a moment. "...You know, Ashley and I..." He stopped himself and sighed. "Forget it. We should keep running." Kartock hesitantly turned around and bolted.

"He's...really worried about Ashley," Dawn observed. "We should--"

Right on cue to interrupt Dawn's sentence, Dialga and Palkia ripped into the wall of that cave as well. All the Trainers and Pokémon turned in horror as the gods released another piercing growl.

Kartock's fists clenched.

"...Ashley..." Dawn murmured under her breath.

"...Get out of here. Now."

The Sinnoh Trainers turned to Kartock. "Not you, too!" Dawn begged.

"Did I stutter? Get moving."

"Reasoning wastes time. Let's go!" Once more, Dusk grabbed Dawn by the hand and pulled her out of her trance, dashing her into the outside air once more.

Alone, Kartock frowned. "You know, guys, I don't really appreciate you killing the partner that I've had for six months. If you could just apologize and run back up to Spear Pillar, this whole thing can be avoided."

------------------------------

Dawn was running dangerously low breath. Even though it had been decided early on in their adventure that Dawn was faster than Dusk, she found it incredibly hard to keep up with him today. "Dusk...Kartock...he..."

"Kartock isn't stupid." Dusk was going to add more, but decided to leave it at that.

"But, Umbreon, he--" Dawn was stopped when a jagged rock came crashing down from the ceiling, landing directly on the back of her neck. She hit the dirty floor with a thud, completely unconscious.

"Ugh, not now..." Dusk did a quick u-turn and bent down to his fallen friend. He quickly untied her bandana from her head and threw it around her neck to catch the blood that was coming out from where the rock had nailed her. He picked the girl up and into his arms, then continued dashing. It was at a slower pace, but he would never leave Dawn behind. "You're just the average damsel-in-distress, aren't you?"

"...Mew..." Dawn slowly mumbled.

"Dawn? Are you back?"

No response.

Time continued on. Dusk was thankful, for he still heard no warning signs that the Sinnoh gods were approaching him. He came to a sudden halt when Dawn began fidgeting in his arms.

"...M-Mew...Mew!" Dawn sprung up in Dusk's arms. Her head was slightly pounding, but she shook it off and tried to figure out what had happened.

"Dawn, can you walk?"

"I think so..."

"Here." He set her back on her feet. "We're literally about ten minutes away from the last exit. We have to get out of here, now!" Dusk shouted, unable to stress the fact enough.

"Was I just...unconscious again?" Dawn rubbed her head.

"Yeah. I'll explain later. Run now!" Dusk continued running and jumping past fallen obstacles.

Dawn, confused, gave chase.

They reached a steep cliff. Dusk instantly recognized it as the same cliff that Blaziken had helped everybody get up the first time. Knowing she was no longer an option, Dusk was forced to think of an alternate method.

It took the boy fifteen seconds and ignoring two prods by Dawn to figure something out. He eventually pushed himself so hard that the most sound plan came to his mind. "Let's blow it out, Wizard!"

"Pika?"

"Use Volt Tackle and run straight down this cliff. That should create a slide."

"Chuu, pika Pikachu..."

Dusk gave a tensed shrug to his foot-tall partner. "I don't hear any of your suggestions!"

"Ka...chu..." Wizard had a feeling this wouldn't end well, but sighed and continued with the plan anyway. Since there wasn't much room to get speed going, he began running around in circles until he reached the necessary velocity for a full-power Volt Tackle. Charged with energy, Wizard bolted down the cliff, ignoring gravity, and somehow landed safely on the ground below.

As Dusk had blindly guessed, Wizard's show created an unusual, yet usable slide. The mouse looked back at his creation and rubbed the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed that it had actually worked. "Pika, chu..."

"Surely it takes a genius to come so far into a plan of this caliber," Dusk bragged, a large smile on his face. "Dawn, you're a forgiving person, right?"

"...Not when I'm asked about it first--"

Dusk took Dawn by the waist and shoved her into the slide. Before tumbling down it face-first, she managed to land on it correctly, if not just barely. When she hit the bottom, she rolled over and landed next to Wizard, who licked her face.

"Covering for your Trainer, huh?" Dawn petted the top of Wizard's head.

Dusk made his way down the Pika-created hill as well. He had been a bit more prepared for it, allowing him to land on his feet rather than his back, but he had to give Dawn credit for how fast she had reacted. He helped her get to her feet, apologized, then continued running out of Mount Coronet.

It was only moments until he, Dawn, and Wizard were finally out into perfect freedom.

"Dawn! Umbreon!" May came running up to the two who had fallen on their knees, weak from running so much. She knelt down next to them. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine..." Dusk panted out.

"I just wish that I had put in that pedometer app on my Pokétch..." Dawn chuckled, still out of breath.

Dusk looked up. Besides Brendan, Jun, and a very tired Celebi, the entire area was vacant. "Where is everybody?"

Brendan walked up to the other side of them that May was on. "Latias flew off, and Team Rocket...Dunno. They must have already ran off somewhere."

"Oh...Latias flew off?" Dusk asked disappointedly. "I was hoping to atleast thank her..."

"I ain't too sure if I got this right, but I believe she told me to give you this. That, or it was the voices in my head. Either way, just take it." Brendan handed Dusk an unfamiliar device.

Dusk took it and observed it. It was a whistle, by the looks of it. It was slender and blue, with a tiny gem lodged in the middle of it. It could easily be held in one hand, and probably stored in a pocket without even being visible. That didn't stop Dusk from smiling at it. "..._I bet that's a fragment of the Soul Dew_," he decided, admiring the shiny rock inserted in it.

"But what do you think it's for...?" May wondered.

A few moments of silence passed before Dawn suddenly gasped. "I bet it's a whistle to call Latias if we ever need her, Umbreon!"

"Are you sure she didn't mean to give it to you, Brendan?" Though his legs were still tired, Dusk managed to stand back up.

"Why would she give it to me? You're the one that helped her back in the cave. Gah, just keep it. Blue ain't my color anyway."

Dusk looked at the whistle once more. "I wonder if this is why Latias kind of disappeared up there..."

The Hoenn Trainers inquired about Dusk's theory, but Dawn tuned them out. She noticed Jun was awkwardly standing off to the side with his back turned. Even though her legs were still shaky from having ran so much, she made her way over to him. "Hey, Jun."

"Oh!" he yelped, apparently startled. "Oh, hey, Dawn. What's up?"

"Forgive me, but I actually put a little money on you not being here when Dusk and I got here..." Dawn turned her head in the direction Jun had been looking at. "What were you looking at just now?"

"What? Oh, nothing. I was just letting you guys catch up with your other friends."

A part of Dawn was worried about the way Jun had said his sentence. That didn't stop her from smiling at him, though. "Jun, we're all friends. You don't need to wait for your turn."

"Heh. Yeah, guess so, right?" Jun crossed his arms and looked up into the sky. The sun was low by this time, but it still illuminated a few clouds. "So, where are you and Dusk off to next?"

Dawn looked up to the same sky that Jun was watching. "I guess...I really don't know. If there's no one else we need to stop from world domination, maybe we'll start working on our Contest appeals. Or maybe catch some more Pokémon first."

"Ah. Coordinators, eh? That's cool. Sure is a lot of options out there, isn't there?"

"Too many. But...that's what keeps everything so new." Another smile was found on Dawn's face. Though he never lost his hasty personality, she enjoyed when Jun would calm down and hold a conversation with her. "So, what about you? Off to the Pokémon League?"

"You bet!" Jun answered cheerily. "I got eight badges that are going to waste in my pocket."

Time passed. It was awkward for Jun, who knew he should be talking about something right now, but Dawn didn't mind it so much. Dusk and the other two were heard talking behind them until Jun finally decided to start more conversation. "Hey, Dawn, I...I'm really sorry. You know that, right?"

Dawn's eyes turned toward him. "Hm? Sorry for what?"

"When we were heading up Coronet, it was really stupid of me to stop in front of that cave...And then I let go of you, and--"

Jun stopped when Dawn's laughing interrupted him. "Jun, you worry too much. Of course I forgive you. Besides, it turned out all right, didn't it? My arm was a pretty small price to pay..." Dawn's head anxiously aimed itself in Jun's direction. "I...really enjoyed hanging out with you."

"You did?" Jun returned. "Uh, I mean, yeah, you did. I did, too. Well, I mean, I enjoyed hanging out with you. I don't mean me! I mean, that'd be pretty weird, wouldn't it?" Jun paused, letting Dawn finish her giggle. "Oh, and, Dawn, one other thing..."

"Yeah?"

"The battle...How about we postpone ours for awhile? We're all dead tired, and I really need to start heading towards the League. Besides, an epic six-on-six is worth waiting for!"

Dawn couldn't stop herself from laughing again. "I never thought I'd live to see the day that you say 'worth' and 'waiting' in the same--"

Dawn froze. Her sentence ended short when she felt a pair of healthy lips on her cheek.

Contrasting to his usual speed, the blond boy slowly pulled away. He stayed somewhat close to Dawn, but not enough to crowd her. "It's a date, right?"

"...Jun, I..." Dawn turned her head to the side. Almost as quickly, however, it came back with a smile on its face. "Yeah. It's a date."

"Great." Jun gave Dawn a playful push on the shoulder, then ripped off. "Say bye to Dusk for me!" he shouted back.

The girl held a weak smile as she watched Jun vanish into a thick load of trees. She sighed, and didn't turn around until she heard May's voice.

"Hey, Dawn, do you want to hold Celebi now? It is your savior, after all..."

Dawn sadly turned around, though she hid it well. She looked into May's arms to see the forest creature still resting in her grasp. It looked much healthier than it did last time she saw it. "Is Celebi doing better?" she asked as she ran back over to her friends.

"Yes...We think Latias helped heal it somehow," May answered. "That's good. That way, we won't have to take it into the Pokémon Center. If we did, everybody would probably be asking if we want to trade it or something," she laughed.

Dawn accepted Celebi from May and watched sincerely as it slept contently in her arms. "So you're the reason I'm still here, huh?" she asked softly.

"Hey, Dusk?" As May and Dawn were paying attention to Celebi, Brendan pulled Dusk away a little bit. "Where's...?"

Dusk turned his head back to Coronet.

"What...?"

"Sometimes...no matter what the cost..." Dusk lowered his beret.

Brendan sighed, then also stared at the mountain. He wasn't sure if it'd be better to say something or not, so he decided not to.

"Hey, Umbreon?" Dawn called, managing to break Dusk out of his moment of silence. "I think we should keep Celebi here, and when we head back into Eterna Forest, we can come back and get it. That way, we don't have to worry about people jumping all over us for it, okay?"

Dusk shrugged. He had other things on his mind. "Sure..."

Dawn rustled a few leaves together into a bed and set Celebi down on it. "There we go..." She stood back up and looked at Brendan. "Have you seen Mew?"

"Not since we left Spear Pillar," Brendan replied.

Becoming interested in the topic of Mew, Dusk spoke back up. "When you got nailed with that rock, you kept mumbling Mew's name..."

Dawn blushed, trying to hide her face underneath her bangs. "Oh, I was doing that again...?"

"Rock? Dawn, are you hurt?" May removed the bandana tied around Dawn's neck to see the red mark where the rubble had landed. It didn't appear to be bleeding anymore.

"Why did you keep saying that, though?" Dusk continued.

"Don't you get it, Umbreon?" Despite how rude that could have sounded, Dawn said it in a gentle way. "Mew healed me...and May, too."

"Me?" May stepped back. "I...didn't know I needed healing..."

Dawn turned to her. "You had an intense fever, May. Then I think that Mew must have come along and healed you, and erased most of your memory in the process. Maybe accidentally, or maybe not. Who knows?"

"I remember the fever, but...I lost my memory?" May finally broke out laughing. "That's something strange to not remember, isn't it?"

"And Mew also healed all of my wounds here..." Dawn pulled off one of the bandages that Brendan had given her. Smooth skin was the only thing underneath it. "But it did something that I can't say I expected it to do, too..."

Brendan saw that May was clearly confused. "_Later_," he mouthed to her.

"What?" Dusk asked his female friend.

Dawn slowly walked up to the boy. "You should know as well as I do..." Dawn fell into Dusk's arms, happily putting her hands on his back. "Mew healed my Coronosis, Umbreon..."

"What?!" he practically screamed.

Dawn giggled. "You know when I said that I had some weird feeling? Right after I stood back up? Now that we just ran all the way down Mount Coronet ourselves, it was because my Coronosis was healed, I think..."

Dusk didn't know what to say. Instead, he just embraced the moment of being close to Dawn.

Brendan leaned closer to Dusk. "Kiss the girl," he whispered, a small smile on his face.

"...Ka."

Brendan turned to the yellow mouse, who was tightening his headband. Brendan instantly recognized what that look on his face meant. "I shoulda known that you wouldn't let me leave without giving you a rematch. Here to the Eterna City Pokémon Center?"

"Pika!" He nodded, then got into a racing position.

"Three, two, one, go!" Brendan yelled, saying it much faster than what was fair. The tactic allowed him to quickly take off before Wizard even realized the race had started.

"PikaCHU!" An electric spark of anger surged out of Wizard before he started chasing after the lead position.

May looked at the two racers, then back at Dusk and Dawn. She giggled. She knew that the Sinnoh Trainers would rather share this moment alone, and decided to enter the race herself. "Wait for me!"

"Mm...so?" Dawn asked.

"So what?"

"Are you going to listen to him?"

"Who?"

"Brendan!"

"Dawn, I haven't listened to him ever since I found out that he's eaten a live Shroomish before, and I don't really plan on starting now."

Dawn laughed and hugged Dusk tighter. "Well, he did say that it was a tradition in Sootopolis City..."

Moments passed, and neither Trainer wanted to leave their position. The only noise that could be heard was Celebi's light breathing as it slept.

Finally, a smile climbed onto Umbreon's face as a thought suddenly appeared in his mind.


	25. The Last Song

Fifteen minutes until 20:00. That was the time according to the clock in Dusk and Dawn's room. They didn't reserve it for the night--they just wanted to rest for a little while after the tiring events of the day.

"Can you believe that we actually saw Dialga and Palkia?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah. They were a bit closer than I wanted them to be, though. Nonetheless, to see Giovanni getting swiped off the mountain in a split second was worth it."

"Who woulda guessed that the crazed idiot we met back at the festival would have been the leader of the very team we were out to destroy..."

Dusk smirked. "So where do you think Roark is right now?"

Dawn shoved her head over the edge of the bed and looked up at Dusk, who was resting comfortably on the top bunk. "Do you actually think Brendan was right? That Roark's actually still alive somewhere?"

"I'm not sure if it'd surprise me much. I just want to know where Team Rocket ran off to...Two people I really didn't want to get away..."

Dawn sighed, then laughed. "A lotta stuff happened today, didn't it?"

"...I think I'll miss Latias," Dusk admitted.

Dawn rummaged through her bag, then got out of the bed and stood up. "Here, you can have this, if you want it."

Dusk turned his head. In Dawn's hand was her bandana. "What? No, it's yours!"

"Not really...I mean, I know that...you probably think of that whistle first, but I think it'd be cool if you symbolized your friendship with Latias with my bandana, you know? I mean, it's how you two first met, and everything...Besides, I want to take a break from it anyway, so just take it!"

Dusk smiled and accepted the gift. "Thank you, Dawn."

"A-Anyway, I, uhm...I'm going to go in for a shower now...and lock the door behind me, uhm," Dawn giggled. "And then we should...you know..."

Dusk sighed. "Yeah, I forgot about that..."

"They said they weren't leaving until late tonight! So we probably have, like, another four hours with them, or something...maybe..." Her voice got lower as the sentence went on.

"Well, I'll go find them now," Dusk offered. "I suppose I have to break it to Wizard that...that..." He gulped. "You know something? For a change, how about I go take a shower, and you tell Wizard that Torchic's flying a few thousand miles away from here?"

Dawn laughed. "No, thanks. In exchange, I'll go find a couple tranq darts to shoot at him to calm him down."

Dusk jumped off the bed. "Gonna need more than a couple..."

----------------------------

"All right. All right, fine, you won. Happy now?"

"You know, I bet I could have beaten both of you boys if I had a fair start..."

"Piikaaa..."

Brendan was on the top bunk, panting. May was on the bottom bunk, also panting heavily, though she had the company of Torchic and Wizard. The latter was enjoying his prize of the turkey sandwich that he had won.

"Don't bet against that rodent!" Brendan warned. "I've learnt that one the hard way."

May laughed. A person knocked on the other side of the door, so she calmed her laughter into more of a giggle. "Come in."

The door slowly opened, revealing their Sinnoh friend.

"Pika!" Wizard greeted, a small piece of meat unknowingly stuck on his lip.

"'Ey, Dusk, what's up?" welcomed Brendan casually, rubbing his eyebrows free of sweat.

"Umbreon," May got out of the bed and looked at him sincerely. "Is something wrong?"

"What? No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to talk to Wizard about, you know...you two tonight, and..." Dusk scratched behind his ear. "Are you busy?"

"Umbreon, actually, I was somewhat worried about you..." May hugged her friend, confusing him to no ends. "Today's been a long day for all of us, even though I only remember about half of it. But I...Brendan filled me in on some things, so now I know why Dawn doesn't have much feeling in her arm, and I..." May giggled, hoping she wouldn't embarrass her friend in front of Brendan. "...and I know how close you two have gotten, and I guess that I...just didn't know how you felt about it."

Dusk didn't appreciate that the 'it' could have meant multiple things. "Dawn's arm?" he guessed.

"Yeah...I mean, I know that Dawn's staying strong about it, but whether you know it or not, you have a tendency to worry when people lose feeling in their arm, Umbreon..."

Dusk smirked. Brendan was slightly confused, but he tried to avoid eavesdropping by closing his eyes and concentrating on something else.

"Oh! But, um..." May backed away from the hug, blushing. "If you want to talk to Wizard, I won't stand in your way. Sorry."

Dusk smiled and hugged May himself. "It's going to be so weird without having you around, May."

"Mm..." May smiled. She was happy to be considered such a good friend. "I'll never forget you, or our little adventure, Umbreon."

"All right, all right," Brendan interjected, waking up and looking at the two. "I'm gonna lose Wizard's sandwich if I have to hear any more of this. We're leaving in two hours, and it don't take us that long to say our good-byes."

"Two hours?" Dusk asked, somewhat shocked.

"Yes...I'm sorry, Umbreon..." May apologized, moving away from the hug once again.

Dusk sighed. Dawn's estimate had been further off than he wanted it to be. "...Can I use the shower in here? Dawn's got the one in the other room, so..."

"Oh, sure," May moved out of the way of the door.

Dusk stepped past her and walked into the restroom, shutting and locking the door behind him.

May looked at her bed. While Wizard was still munching on the sandwich, Torchic had grabbed his ear in her mouth and began nibbling on it. Despite appearances, it didn't seem to be hurting Wizard at all. May looked up at Brendan to see what his reaction of it was, then laughed.

A while passed, and Dawn stepped out of the bathroom. Dusk was already out of his own shower, and sitting on the bottom bed.

Dawn took notice that his hair was wet, but didn't say anything about it. "Hey...Umbreon."

"Hey," he answered back plainly. He gave Dawn's body a once-over and noticed how much skin was showing. "Got all those bandages off, huh?"

"Yep. I can't thank Mew enough for healing all those scrapes and bruises for me. I can't even imagine the pain I was in," she said with a laugh. "Anyway, did you already talk to Wizard?"

"I couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it."

Dawn chuckled as she set her brush back inside of her bag. "Well, we'll find some way to break it to him."

Dusk stood up. "You know...I think they just finished setting up the equipment out there."

"Equipment?" Before Dusk could answer, Dawn realized what he was talking about. A small smile crept to her face. "C'mon, Umbreon! I just did that for some fun last time. We don't actually have to do it again if you don't want to. Besides, after your duet with Giovanni, I figured you'd be tired of singing for the day."

"Well, I'm not, and I want to!" Dusk countered with an unusual amount of energy. His heart was beating a bit faster than usual. "I already know what song I want, and you don't even have to sing. I just need you up on the stage with me, all right?"

"Umbreon, what..."

"Oh, just c'mon!" Dusk surprised himself when he realized that he was doing to Dawn exactly what she had done to him last week. It only made the grin on his face larger.

The crowd whistled and cheered. The lights were dim, minus the familiar mirror ball spinning around the room.

"**All right!!**" The doctor held his own microphone, and he screamed that at the top of his lungs. The result was hurting everybody's hearing. "Whoops, sorry," he apologized, then turned the volume down on the mic a bit. "All right!" he repeated in a more bearable volume. "They're back, they're here, and they were the only ones to actually perform last week! Give it up for...uh...those two!"

As the crowd burst into spontaneous applause, Dusk leaned over to his blue-haired companion. "We were the only ones to get up here last week?"

Dawn giggled.

The side door opened up with May and Brendan looking through it. They saw their friends on stage and decided to use the darkness of the room to their advantage as they slipped into the back, unnoticed, and watched.

The crowd's reaction turned to suspense as Dusk cycled through the songs on the touch screen monitor. "This should be appropriate enough," he said, tapping on a selection.

Dawn was still confused. Though she was standing up on stage with nothing to do, she hardly even noticed that there was a crowd there. Her eyes moved from Umbreon to the machine, but she couldn't spot the title of the song in time.

"_Good friends are those who stick together._

_When there's sun and in the heavy weather..._

_Smile after smile,_

_That's how it will be,_

_Just you and me_..."

The song continued, but Dusk decided to forgo it in order to do something else.

"Hey, May, Brendan? Why don't you come on up here?"

This caused Dawn to look out into the audience, trying to find the two people Dusk had beckoned.

The Hoenn Trainers looked at each other, both blushing. Between being busted when they thought they were hidden and being called up to do something as embarrassing as karaoke, the blush was founded. May finally started laughing and tugged at Brendan's arm, inclining him to follow her up on stage. "C'mon, Brendan! Just because we're leaving soon, doesn't mean we can't enjoy the time that we have!" she shouted over the music.

"...Shoot me." Brendan sighed and gave into her demands, reluctantly following her up the short flight of stairs to get to the stage.

The Pokémon Center's doctor began clapping, leading way for the audience to follow along. The warm welcome was enough to ease Brendan onto the stage and appeal to the crowd with a thank-you wave.

Dusk continued.

"_Remember when we first met?_"

The single line was enough to make Dawn laugh. She thought back to the first step she had taken into Umbreon's home and how nervous she had been. She nodded, though it was proceeded by looking at the ground shyly after realizing that she didn't need to answer the question.

May hugged Brendan, not caring how many people were watching them. "_I certainly remember when we first met..._" she mouthed, even though she was turned in the opposite direction of Brendan's face.

"_We had such fun, oh I never will forget..._

_Since then, the times are so good!_

_We've always stuck together like best friends should..._

_Til' the end I will be with you,_

_We will go where our dreams come true,_

_All the times that we have been through,_

_You will always be my best friend_..."

Once more, the song kept going, but Dawn stopped Dusk from continuing to sing by holding down the hand that was gripping the microphone.

"This is beautiful, Umbreon, but why did you feel that you needed to sing this?"

Dusk stood still, smiling at her.

"Huh...?"

Finally, he moved. Using nothing but his waist, he leaned closer to her until their noses were touching. He turned his head so he could get even closer until their mouths connected with each other. A soft kiss began.

Dawn had to confess that getting her lips sucked on wasn't the way she was planning on karaoke night ending. The Hoenn Trainers and a flock of on-lookers observing them only made the situation worse. It wasn't long, however, until everybody in the room seemed to disappear, as far as the girl was concerned. Everybody except herself and her love.

She put her arms around his neck and allowed Umbreon full reign over her mouth.

"Oh...!" May exclaimed upon noticing the two. The music was enough to block her out.

Brendan slipped out of May's hug and slowly took the microphone from Dusk's hand, who seemed to not even notice that it was moving. He looked out to the crowd and smiled. "Rest assured, folks, I don't think that's actually how the song ends," he echoed through the microphone.

Neither Dusk nor Dawn paid attention to him, though it did snap Dawn back to reality. She still didn't care what anybody thought, or how many people were watching.

Dusk pulled away for just a moment. "I love you, Dawn."

Dawn stopped to let those words register. The same words that she had tried so hard to say herself. "_Maybe we're not on top of Mount Coronet, but..._"

The male of the couple barely got to see Dawn's smile before she leaned in and began another kiss.

Brendan cleared his throat. "You know, they say that after two minutes without oxygen, the brain starts to--"

May shoved the microphone away from Brendan's face and began kissing him, taking it a bit further than the Sinnoh Trainers were. Her tongue reached inside his mouth and whipped Brendan's own tongue as punishment for making fun of Dusk and Dawn again.

In spite of the blaring instrumental music that was still playing in the background, the crowd was in a state of awkward silence. Some looked at one another for support, while others couldn't peel their eyes away from the make out session.

A little girl that was near the front began clapping. After one more person followed suit, the entire crowd broke into heavy applause.

All four stopped what they were doing and reopened their eyes, looking at the crowd. They all blushed at how strange it felt to be clapped for something like this.

"Well, May," Brendan began, rubbing the back of his head. "It may not be a Contest stage, but is this déjà vu or what?"

Dawn pulled her lips away from Dusk's. Instead, she hugged him tightly. "Let's go into a more...private place." She made sure that no one would hear her over the music.

Dusk wordlessly stepped off of the stage and into the room they were just in beforehand. Dawn was soon behind.

Brendan watched them run off, then turned back to the crowd. He looked at the microphone, then the crowd once again. "You know, if there's any women here that carries around a lot of dead presidents, I'll be more than willing to continue the show and--"

May slapped Brendan in the arm. He laughed and set the microphone back in the stand, then stepped off stage. May tried following him, but Wizard suddenly came bolting out of nowhere and climbed up to her shoulder. He pointed at the microphone Brendan had just set down.

"Pika Pika!" Had he not been right next to her ear, May wouldn't have heard Wizard over the music.

"Oh? Is that so?" May giggled, pretending she could understand him. "Well, all right, if you say so." She walked back on stage and picked a microphone up, then walked over to the song-picking machine and bent down to it. "Which one should we do?"

Being close to the machine, Wizard reached out himself and tapped a song. "Pika Pi!"

She laughed. "I'm not surprised." She lifted the microphone to her mouth. "Torchic? Are you out there?"

Moments later, a small, red chicken cheerfully hopped up the steps and onto the stage. "Torchic, Torchic Tor!"

"Pika, Pikachu!" Wizard licked May's face then hopped down to dance with Torchic.

May bellowed when she watched as Wizard helped Torchic twirl around, following the beat of the song.

"_Pikachu!_

_You know that you're the one, so,_

_I choose you!_

_There's no one else, I'd rather_

_Have you by my side...and you can help me win this fight,_

_Because we need to face the challenge that's ahead!_"

In the side room, both Dawn and Dusk could hear May singing clearly, causing them to smile. Despite what was to be expected, Dawn was on the bottom bunkbed, while Dusk was leaning against the wall. Neither had spoken a word to each other, until Dawn finally decided to break that.

"Umbreon...I..."

He walked a little closer to her and laughed. "I should probably apologize...A bit more of a warning probably would have been nice, I'm sure."

"No..." She stood up and walked over to him, pecking him with another kiss on the lips. "I want to apologize...I'm sorry, Umbreon..."

"For what?"

"...I never said that I loved you, too." Dawn kissed him again, a bit longer than the last one was. "I love you too, Umbreon."

Dusk hugged her. "...I see you finally put some of that perfume on..."

"Mm..." Dawn moaned. "Just tonight, I remembered that I even bought it..." She licked his neck and giggled.

"...You're not going to hate yourself for doing that, are you?"

"Oh, yes, I'm a very bad girl...punish me," she giggled. She kept her head on Dusk's shoulder. "The only thing I hate right now is what we're supposed to do when we go back home..."

"Oh? You still want to head back home for awhile?"

"Yeah..." Dawn sighed. "After all this, I think we should take a couple days' break. Besides...'our' home. I like the ring of that."

"Hm..." he moaned, rubbing Dawn's back soothingly.

Dawn nervously returned the favor, stroking her more-responsive arm up and down Dusk's back. "Hey, Umbreon? Can I share a secret with you?" She waited for a response, but got nothing except a faint nod. It was good enough for her, so she inhaled a deep breath and continued, "I might have...exaggerated a few things that I've told you about me..."

Alarmed, Dusk pulled back. "Are you a robot?"

The girl couldn't help a blank stare. After realizing that it wasn't a serious question, Dawn laughed heartily and fell back into Dusk's chest. "Not exactly..."

"Oh..." He returned to massaging her back. "That still would have been cool, though. Anyway, continue."

"Rowan..." Dawn began drawing circles on the front of Umbreon's shirt. It was a newfound nervous habit. "Rowan didn't really...take me in quite as soon as I may have led you to believe..."

Again, the newer Trainer pushed himself away from the hug. His expression was much more serious than it had been last time. "What?" he asked in disbelief.

"Don't get mad!" she begged. Unable to stand creating any more eye contact with him, she attempted to hide in his upper torso again. He stopped her before she had the chance, gripping her arms tightly enough so she couldn't reach forward. She sighed, then timidly lifted her eyes up to Dusk's. "I didn't lie to you, I just didn't say everything..."

"I'm all ears," Dusk replied sternly.

Dawn's gaze fell back to the floor. "It was, like...a day or two after Ashley died, and the house got...repossessed. And I...didn't really run into Rowan until about...two months later, and--"

"What?!" Umbreon's grip on his friend unknowingly increased. It hurt her left arm a little bit, but she said nothing about it. "So you were--"

"I was on my own for about two months," Dawn said, interrupting him this time. "I really wanted to catch a Pokémon, just so I wouldn't be alone, but I couldn't find any friendly wild ones, and I didn't want to spend the incredibly little money that I had on a Pokéball...So it was just me against Sinnoh."

Dusk finally realized what he was doing and released Dawn from his tough hold. She took the opportunity to rub her aching arm with her numb hand, but didn't seem angry at Umbreon in the least.

He tried saying something, but found that he couldn't do it while facing Dawn. Instead, he turned around. "You know, that just reminded me of Celestic Town...When we were there the first time, Brendan made some wisecrack about a homeless girl...You always seemed so confident and cheerful, but I could never get the thought out of the back of my mind..."

"...You have good instincts," Dawn complimented quietly after Dusk didn't continue.

"Hey, Dawn..." Dusk slowly twirled around until he was able to study Dawn's unsure face. "Thanks. It probably wasn't easy to admit that."

"Not in the least," she grinned a little. "But...I'm glad that I got it out in the open, too. I should really be the one thanking you, though." With a small step, Dawn stood in front of Umbreon. She cupped his chin with her finger and thumb and lifted it up slightly. "Thank you, Umbreon...for knowing all of my dirty little secrets, and still being here..."

"Always," he barely managed to say before Dawn's lips silenced him.

Three consecutive knocks on the door interrupted the moment.

Dawn broke the kiss, letting her head rest against Umbreon's chest once more. She kept her head aimed at the door. "Come in."

The door opened, with a bit of a downtrodden Brendan on the other side. "Hey, guys, how you doing?" he asked, strangely politely.

"...No wise crack that Dawn and I are so close?" Dusk blinked. "C'mon, it was an open shot..."

"No, no," Brendan laughed. "I'm past that. Hey, look, May asked if you two would come on back out for a minute."

Dusk and Dawn looked at each other, then followed Brendan back out to the lobby. He remained quiet on the entire trip, which was unsettling to the Sinnoh Trainers.

May was on stage by her lonesome. The two Pokémon spotted the group and ran over to them. Wizard hopped on Dusk's shoulder and got a welcoming petting by both of his Trainers. Torchic skipped over to Brendan and demanded that she be lifted onto his shoulder.

"My closest friends and I..." May had to rub her eye to stop a tear that was swelling inside of it. "We've been traveling around Sinnoh for a week or two, and, uhm...Well, since they're right here," May smiled at the two from behind her tearing, sapphire eyes. "I sort of have something to tell them that I've been trying to put off for as long as I could, and I guess announcing it in front of all these people will be the only way I'll ever get it out...Dawn...a-and Umbreon...Brendan and I...are leaving." She gulped. "...R-right after I finish up here."

"...M-May..." Tears came to Dawn's eyes.

Dusk looked at his own girlfriend. Watching her watering eyes almost made him cry along with her.

Brendan put a hand on both of their shoulders, seemingly to apologize for not telling them sooner.

May closed her eyes. "I...was going to get off the stage after singing that song to Umbreon's Pikachu, but I saw another song here, and I feel that...I...have to play it..." May sighed as she tapped a few buttons on the monitor.

Dusk took another glance at Dawn. She was biting her lip, clearly trying harder than ever to keep her tears from escaping.

The performing Coordinator closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could only pray her tears waited until she was finished with the song.

"_I close my eyes, and I can see..._

_The day we met._

_Just one moment, then I knew..._

_You're my best friend._

_Do anything...for you..._

_We've gone so far,_

_And done so much!" _May smiled. Those words were so true.

_"And I feel, like we've always been together,_

_Right by my side._

_Through thick and thin._

_You're the part of my life..._

_I'll always remember_..." The tears in her eyes were becoming evident in her voice, but she tried to stay strong.

"_The time has come..._

_It's for the best, I know it..._

_Who could have guessed that you and I..._

_...Somehow, some day..._

_We'd have to say, 'good-bye'_..."

May sniffled. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She ran off the stage, broken in tears, past some people, and into both Dusk and Dawn's arms. The spotlight followed her over. As if randomly, she picked Dawn's shoulder to begin crying on.

"Oh, May..." Dawn's tears began leaking onto May's shirt as well.

Dusk patted May's back hard a couple times. A single line of water from each eye fell down his face.

"Pika...Pikachu..." Wizard threw in sadly.

Brendan continued squeezing one of each of the Sinnoh Trainer's shoulders. Though he knew that he would deny it, tears flooded to his eyes as he choked a single time before pulling himself back together.

Dawn finally let out a small, unconvincing smile. "...May, I think you have a song to finish."

May smiled and rubbed the tears from her eyes, though she knew it wouldn't last long. "Yeah...I guess I do, huh?" She closed her eyes as she turned around and began walking back to the stage.

Since the song had continued playing, May picked up where it had left off.

"..._And it seems, like we were always winning._

_But as our team, is torn apart_..._!_" She cringed, but continued.

"_How 'wish we could go, back to the beginning..._

_The time has come..._

_It's for the best, I know it..._

_Who could have guessed that you and I..._

_...Somehow, some way..._

_We'd have to say, 'good-bye'_..."

The words paused. Unable to keep her mind on singing, May began choking into the microphone. One last line finally came up.

"_Somehow, today..._

_We have to say...good bye_..."

May set the microphone down softly on the monitor, not so much as making an attempt to put it back in the stand. Her eyes were far too clouded to succeed in that. A small smile crawled on her face when the crowd started cheering for her, though she continued choking.

Brendan walked up on the stage. He took her body around his arm and helped her walk back down.

The doctor watched as Dusk, Dawn, Brendan and May all left the Pokémon Center to step out into the nighttime air.

All four walked up the road with nothing but the cries and chokes of the females making sound. The boys managed to not break down, if for only to defend their pride. They finally found themselves at a road which extended two ways.

"I guess...this is where..." Brendan clenched his fist. He couldn't finish his sentence.

Silence filled the air for a few moments. Nobody knew what to say.

May finally walked forward a few steps, causing Dawn to follow her. She giggled, though it was rather stuffed up. "You know that song that Umbreon serenaded you with? I think...we could have sang that song to each other, and it basically would have meant the same thing, huh?" She turned around and tried smiling at Dawn. "...My best friend..."

Dawn looked at the ground that she was kicking at with her foot. "I knew this was going to hurt, but...wow..."

"We've been really close for a really long time, Dawn...I still remember giving you my lunch that day that you forgot to pack your own..."

"May..." Dawn cried. "Thank you. For everything. It's because of you that me and Umbreon are together, and come on...you just flat-out showed me what being a friend is about."

"No, Dawn," May shook her head. "You and Umbreon were supposed to be together. I can't claim the credit for fate."

"I don't know if you remember or not..." Dawn wiped her tears on her sleeve. "But that scarf...It's mine, and I really want you to keep it. I gave it to you a couple days ago."

May smiled. "I was wondering why I had it on..."

"...I'm going to miss you so much, May..." Dawn finally needed a friend to break down to, and fell into May's arms.

"There, there...C'mon, Dawn, it's okay." Despite her words, May's face was getting red from crying so much. "Here, I want you to have a couple things from me as well."

"Please, May, you've given me so much already. You don't have to give me anything..."

"I'm not going to be remembering you because of your scarf while you're off forgetting about me, young woman!" May exclaimed sternly, though it was playful. "First, I want to give you this..." Without even taking it off, May reached behind her back and unzipped a compartment of her backpack. She fumbled around with it for a minute before grabbing the necessary item.

"Need help?" Dawn wondered, stifling a chuckle.

May handed her a tiny, pink box. "Open it," she requested.

Dawn accepted the box and pulled the top of it off. Inside was a dusty, somewhat worn ribbon. "What's this?"

"You still want to be a Coordinator, don't you?" May smiled. "That was the very first ribbon that I ever won in a Contest, and I've always carried it around with me since."

"...M-May, I can't take this. I mean, this has to be an endless source of memories for you, I just can't--"

May put her hand on Dawn's shoulder. "Brendan...told me about your family, and how this scarf is important to you. Dawn, if you're giving me the closest monument of your sister's, then I owe it to my best friend to give her something of equal importance to me. Please use it as a good luck charm for your Contests!"

"...Th-thank you, May..."

May began laughing. "My second gift required a lot of thought, and I was even forced to ask Blaziken for permission. Excuse me." May sidestepped Dawn and walked over to Dusk.

Dawn just watched her. "..._Blaziken_..._?_" she asked herself.

The woman stepped back to her first position; this time, Torchic was on her shoulder. She giggled. "All right, Dawn, put that box in your bag for right now, close your eyes, and hold out your hand."

Confused, Dawn did as she was told. She set the pink box in the main compartment of her handbag, then held both hands out and closed her eyes.

A moment later, she felt two claws on them. She peeked her eyes open to see a face beaming back at her. "Torchic, Tor!"

"What?!" Dawn exclaimed, stunned by the gift.

Her reaction somewhat amused May, even though she was expecting that to be the reaction Dawn would have. "I want you to have Torchic. There's no way I could fly back to Hoenn knowing that Torchic's crying her heart out because she can't see Wizard anymore! And I'm sure Wizard will be just as excited to be able to see Torchic every day. However, I decided that I have to throw a catch on giving you Torchic..."

"...Wh-what...?" Dawn stuttered. Her mind was stuck, unwilling to accept that she was getting an entire Pokémon handed to her.

May smirked and lifted up a red and white orb. "I get to keep Torchic's Pokéball!"

"Chic, Torchic Tor?" she cocked her head.

"That's right..." May petted the top of the curious Pokémon's head. "You're going to be staying here, in Sinnoh, with Dawn, okay?"

She bounced up and down in Dawn's hands. "Torchic! Torchic Torchic!"

May smiled. "It's all right, Torchic...Your mommy knows that you'll do just great on your own! And you know that you can always rely on Dawn, or Uncle Umbreon, or Wizard to help you, right?" She laughed at the way she addressed Dusk.

"...Torchic..." Tears were coming to the Pokémon's eyes after having left the humans'.

"I know, I'll miss you too...But, see, you're actually the lucky one. I want to stay here with Dawn too, but I can't. You can, though, and that's great! But I still expect you to be on your best behavior, Torchic! No burning Dawn like you did in the forest before, all right?"

"Chic," she nodded, slowly accepting her fate.

"...M-May, I can't take Torchic. She doesn't want to leave you, and it wouldn't be--"

"I...I don't want to leave you either, Dawn..." Tears came back to May's eyes as she hugged Dawn one more time.

Dawn held her numb hand to the side, letting the perched Torchic get a side-view of the two. She used her remaining hand to wrap around her close friend's back. "May...Is it okay if I say it?"

Even through all of the tears, May found yet another smile on her face. Her head was dug into Dawn's shoulder, however, so the younger girl didn't notice it. "Of course it is."

"I..." Dawn choked. "I love you, May..."

The female Hoenn Trainer gripped Dawn a little bit tighter. "I love you too, Dawn."

Meanwhile, the boys were keeping conversation lively. Brendan had his hand on Dusk's shoulder. Both were staring at the road for the most part, though they would turn their heads to look at one another occasionally.

"And remember, to just stay DEAD," the older Trainer taught.

Dusk looked at Brendan suspiciously. "Stay...dead. I'll...be sure to remember that."

Brendan laughed. "No, no, no. See, that's one of them acronyms that I use. It stands for, 'daffodils, envelopes, and doughnuts.' See, May's favorite flower is a daffodil. And, let's face it, chicks love getting flowers sent to them. What they love even more is the little note, or envelope, that are attached to them. That's where you write some romantic crap that doesn't even make sense to you, but it'll make their hearts melt. And then doughnuts. What else do chicks like? Food. Usually food with lots of sugar on it. Not all chicks, mind you, but you got to watch out for the ones that don't anyway. Trust me, it's old fashioned, but it works like one of them three-leaf clovers."

"It's four-leaf clover, Brendan..."

Brendan shook his head. "Nah, they don't work as well. Stick with three."

Dusk held his hand out. "Thanks, Brendan. For everything."

"'Ey, next to helping old ladies across the street, watching criminals get blown off a mountain by a purple dragon is my favorite pastime." Brendan looked at the hand, then back at Dusk. "Now c'mere and give me some sugar." Brendan took the hand and pulled it, bringing Dusk in close enough for a hug.

Dusk laughed as he crashed into Brendan's shirt. He didn't care about the awkwardness as he wrapped his arms behind Brendan's back.

"Really, though, kid, thanks. Not only were you there for May, but you gave me something to laugh about every time I think about them."

"...What?" Dusk asked.

"The mottos!" he yelled back.

"You get quite some amusement out of them, don't you?" Dusk questioned, leaving the hug.

Brendan also took a step back, then nodded his head. "Sure! Who doesn't, really?" He paused and looked off to the side. "All right, I suppose that ain't very fair. Really, Umbry, I've had a great time. Come to Hoenn sometime, and I'll make sure to return the favor."

"I'll hold you to that," Dusk responded with a smirk.

Brendan turned to Wizard. "And you...You keep your Trainer in shape, would ya?"

"Pika," he nodded sadly.

Brendan and May smiled as they passed each other while on their way to switching Trainers.

"H-here, Brendan," Dawn said hastily. "Please take Torchic back. She doesn't really like me, and suddenly being abandoned by May, I mean--"

Brendan laughed. "Torchic burned two of May's bandanas before she finally warmed up to her. This trouble maker..." He stopped to stroke the Pokémon's head. "just takes awhile to warm up to you, that's all."

"But, why did...May give her to me? I mean, she'd probably be better off with Umbreon, since--"

Brendan brought his hand up to his chin. "Do you...not want Torchic?"

"What? Well, I mean, of course I'll take care of Torchic, I just--"

Brendan interrupted yet again. "And May knows that. That's why she gave her to you."

"Well, so would Umbreon, and--"

"Dawn, Dawn, Dawn, okay, listen to me. Wizard and Torchic can't keep their hands off of each other. You and Umbry can't keep your fur off of each other." Brendan started hitting the tip of his two index fingers together.

Though it took a couple moments to realize what he was implying, Dawn blushed. "...Oh."

"That's also why she wants Torchic to stay ott'a her Pokéball," he went on to explain.

Dawn laughed. "I'm sorry, Brendan...I shouldn't be talking about May when you're going to be leaving for as long as she is, huh?"

"Ah, it's fine. You and May have been good friends since the day we started heading to Oreburgh. I know that you and I are probably the two people who got the fewest lines talking to each other, but it really has been a blast hanging out with you, Dawn. Not many people in Hoenn get the whole Jackie Chan thing."

Dawn smirked. "Thanks. Trust me, it's been...unique hanging out with you, too."

Brendan raised an eyebrow. "Something on your mind?" he asked, confused by her tone of voice.

"I don't...remember ever thanking you. I mean, sincerely, anyway," Dawn confessed.

"For what?"

"Sure, maybe we didn't have many lines or anything, but Brendan...I really do want to thank you for helping me out. I mean...well, all of it. Way back in that forest, before we even got to Veilstone...then there was Mount Coronet, obviously...When the PokéCenter blacked out, you knew that talking to me would help keep my fear in check, and..."

"Hey, I'll have you know that you returned quite a few of those favors. Especially in the whole scene of May's amnesia. No, I know you don't think that helped me out in any way, but trust me, it did. I woulda lost my mind if I didn't have help taking care of May some of those times."

"...And also, thank you for loosening me up a little bit." Dawn turned her head to the ground and rubbed the back of her head. "After being around Rowan twenty-four seven, a counterweight like you was exactly what I needed."

The Hoenn Trainer turned around, leaving his back facing Dawn. "You know, I..." he started nervously, "...I guess I kind of owe it to you to be honest. You were dead on with what'chu said back in Mount Coronet."

Dawn brushed some hair behind her ear, waiting for him to continue.

"I really don't want to leave..." Brendan twisted his head back, letting him glimpse at the somewhat-surprised eyes of Dawn. "You know? I mean, c'mon. Hoenn's better than Sinnoh, of course, but one thing that it's missing is anybody like you two. It's just been me and May by ourselves for a few years now, so to travel around with more people was just..." He turned his head around, gazing instead at the starry night. "I dunno. Maybe I'm just being sappy."

His sentence wasn't stated for any more than two seconds before two arms wrapped around his stomach from the back. "I'll miss you, Brendan..."

Dawn's head resting on his back startled Brendan for a moment. He easily recovered and set a hand on Dawn's own. "Yeah, I'll miss you, too..."

In spite of the smile she had given Brendan, May wasn't able to so much as look at Dusk without tears appearing in her eyes. She took a deep breath, gulped, and forced her last words to her Sinnoh friend out of her mouth.

"Umbreon?" she weakly began.

His back was turned. He already knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from crying if he was looking at May. "Hey..."

Her head hung low. Her eyes were twinkling, though instead of joy, it was because of the tears. "I will really miss you..."

Dusk fidgeted in place. The corner of his eye caught Wizard as he scampered towards May. "May, I owe you thanks for a lot of things, so if you don't mind, I won't run down the list."

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that's okay..." She happily caught and stroked Wizard as he cried light tears into her shirt. Though it was rude, she ignored the rodent in favor of its Trainer. "If it's okay with you, I want to tell you that I'm sorry for your hand...It's all my fault, and I know it, and--"

"This?" Dusk turned around and lifted his left hand up. "It's healed, May. I'll probably take the bandages off tomorrow."

"But if I wasn't being so selfish, you--" May stopped herself and blinked when Dusk's words finally registered. "...Oh. It's really healed already?"

"Yep..." he replied absent-mindedly. His eyes had turned to May's stomach, where she was holding Team Missile's mascot at. "Wizard's sure going to miss you..."

"Not as much as I'll miss him..." May lowered her head. Her ears were able to pick up the Pikachu's restrained chokes. "By the way, Umbreon, I'm...really glad." She lifted her eyes up and looked at Umbreon with a tiny smile. "I'll let Dawn keep her secrets, but...I'll just say that she was really worried about how today was going to turn out. And...I think you made her a really happy girl tonight."

Dusk looked past May and at the other two. Dawn was laughing, though the fact that she was in Brendan's presence made it unsurprising. "I hope so," he answered back uncertainly.

"You don't need to do that." May shifted around, letting her also look at her boyfriend mingle with Dawn. "I know you did." She aimed her head at the road, closed her eyes, then lifted Wizard up. She kissed away a tear that was running down his yellow fur. She mumbled a word of assurance before turning to look at Dusk.

His fingers were rubbing his eyes at a vigorous, almost unhealthy rate. May assumed she knew why. "Well, I...doubt Brendan wants to wait around here much longer." He tried forcing a smirk, and just barely succeeded at it. "We don't need a Hoenn fanboy like him around here, anyway."

"...Umbreon..." May's shaky voice spoke, "...It's okay. I've been crying for the past half hour. I don't mind if you do it."

Dusk took slow steps towards May. He wrapped his arms around her back as soon as he was in a position to. Wizard was surprised at being sandwiched at first, but quickly got over it and resumed crying on May. "You've been a much better friend to me than you should have been..." He dug his eyes into the Trainer's shoulder for the sole purpose of blocking her from seeing any tears. "Thank you, May. You've done--"

"Shh..." May shushed, knowing that speaking was difficult for Umbreon right now. She removed an arm from supporting Wizard so she could place it behind Dusk's back. "You don't need to thank me. Everything I've done, I did it because you and Dawn made my first trip to Sinnoh spectacular. So, thank you, Umbreon."

More water quietly leaked out of Umbreon's eyes. May's shoulder was there to catch all of them.

Some time passed. The Trainers were standing next to their respective partners, doing everything they could to prevent any more tears from falling.

"So, where are you two off to?" Brendan asked.

"We're going to sleep in Eterna Forest for a quick kick of nostalgia," Dawn laughed. "Then we're going to head to Sandgem, and then...I'm not really sure." She looked at Dusk quickly, but he remained quiet.

Brendan cracked his knuckles, glancing at a smiling May before returning to the Sinnoh Trainers. "All right, before we take off, we got two last gifts for you. May, you want to start?"

She giggled. "All right...Here." May handed a once-folded small piece of paper to Dawn. "It isn't much of a gift, but that note has my cell phone number written on it. You know that you can call me anytime you need me."

"You have a cell phone?! The whole 'good-bye' thing would have been a lot easier if we knew that we could just call you on a phone!" Dawn exclaimed, slightly irritated.

May bit her lip, unsuccessfully blocking a smirk. "All right, Brendan, your turn."

"Next order of business. Dawn, May gave you Torchic, and Dusk, you received some invaluable advice by yours truly."

"I would actually say 'unvaluable' before I would 'inva--'"

Giving a light glare at the boy, Brendan interrupted, "However, the most important gift of all doesn't actually come from either me or May." The Hoenn Trainer grabbed a Pokéball from the side of his belt. "A friend wants to say good-bye." The Pokéball opened, freeing Chatot and setting it on Brendan's shoulder. "Say goodbye, Chatot."

"Goodbye, Chatot! Goodbye, Chatot!" the parrot squawked.

"Can't say I'm surprised by that," Brendan stated.

"Professor Rowan's dinky thing! Beat up Eterna Forest in a dark alley!" Chatot continued.

Brendan's eyes blinked steadily. "Where did you possibly come up with phrases like those?"

Chatot squawked twice before answering, flapping its wings in rhythm with it. "From the internet! From the internet!"

Brendan sighed and shook his head. The other three Trainers laughed. "That's enough, Chatot..." Brendan lifted a Pokéball up.

"For the win!" the bird managed to squeal before getting sucked back into its Pokéball.

"Some good-bye that was, huh?" Brendan's fist clenched. "...Well, May. I thi--"

"Wait!" Dawn interrupted, "Before you go...May, are you...still angry at us?"

May thought for a moment, then realized that Dawn was talking about their conversation soon before she lost her memory. She closed her eyes and shook her head, then opened her eyes back up and smiled at Dawn. "I could never hold a grudge on you for that long...best friend."

Tears came to Dawn's eyes as she smiled back at her. "Please take care...best friend."

"Now I know what the problem is!" Brendan randomly shouted, causing everybody to look at him. "Ionu," he decided.

May blinked. "...What?"

Brendan pointed at Torchic, who was on the ground next to Wizard, looking back at Brendan blankly. "Her name. Call her Ionu."

Dawn froze. "You want me...to nickname her?"

May nodded. "Sure! I like that name. What do you think, Torchic? Do you like the name Ionu?"

"Torchic!" She nodded her head eccentrically.

Dawn smiled. "Well, I guess you do need a nickname if you're coming with us, huh?"

"Umbry...Dawn...We'll see you around, all right?" Brendan turned to his side, ready to make his exit.

"We'll miss you so much..." May added, also turning to her side.

"We will too..." Dawn mumbled out. She didn't know if May had even heard her or not.

"Good-bye, May...Brendan..." Dusk gulped. It was harder every time he needed to say that.

Brendan and May finally turned their backs to them completely and began walking away.

Dusk and Dawn didn't move. They only watched as their friends slipped away. Soon before they were completely out of view, Dawn lifted her hands to her mouth and screamed.

"**Hoenn rocks!!**"

Brendan lifted his hand high into the air, keeping his index and pinky fingers extended.

Dawn laughed and turned around, starting her trek towards Eterna Forest.

Dusk followed her. "Let's face it, Dawn...Traveling just won't be the same anymore."

"Yeah, I know." For the first time in a few days, Dawn looked up to the sky as she walked. "But, it's okay. Look how much we've learned from them." She laughed. "Let's face it, Umbreon, we wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for them."

"That's a promising future."

Dawn laughed as she set her head on his shoulder.

----------------------

"You ready to blow this popstand, May?"

"I guess so..." she sighed. "Brendan, I'm going to miss them so much."

"We couldn't keep stepping on their toes. Remember that you promised me that way back before we were even permanent members of Team Missile. We had to back off eventually. Besides, you know that we're going to see them again."

"Yeah, you're right..." May looked back again. Even though she couldn't see her friends anymore, she still smiled. "So you think they'll come?"

"If they're Coordinators, dangit, they better come. Speaking of that, I have to say that I'm a little disappointed in them. You think they woulda eventually figured out that we're...a bit more than the average Coordinator. I can't believe we went almost two weeks without them finding out."

May giggled. "I was beginning to get worried when Miss Ashley there got talking about it..."

"Ish," Brendan cringed. "Don't remind me. A bullet barely dodged."

"Dawn, Umbreon...I'll see you in two months, okay?" May giggled, then accepted the Pokéball that Brendan was holding in front of her.

They each shot a Pokéball at the ground, releasing a Flygon from Brendan's and an Altaria from May's. Brendan had called up Professor Birch while May had been singing and asked him to send the two Pokémon to provide transport. They climbed up their respective Pokémon and looked back one more time. Finally, they looked at each other and sighed, then commanded the Pokemon to take flight. Their only destination was the faraway land of Hoenn.


	26. Aftermath

It was 23:30 by the time Dusk and Dawn had reached the same clearing in Eterna Forest that they had slept in before. Not a single thing had changed from the last visit--it was still as tranquil as it had been.

"Ugh, what a day..." Dusk moaned

"Hey...Umbreon?" Dawn itched the back of her head. "I hope you don't mind if I ask the same question twice, but...How are we going to sleep?"

Instinctively, Dusk reached for his backpack. It wasn't long at all until he realized that he no longer carried a blanket with him. "...Uhh..."

Dawn giggled. "Well, I guess we'll just have to cuddle together to stay warm..." She batted her eyelashes cutely, which Dusk barely noticed through the light of the moon. "Unless, of course, you don't feel comfortable with that...?"

"...Uhh..." Dusk blankly repeated. Dawn's laugh broke him out of his surprised stupor.

He laid down on the grass and instantly realized how much less comfortable this was than when he had his blanket. He tried to ignore it, instead welcoming Dawn as she laid down close to him. They quickly wrapped one another in their arms.

"Neither of us are getting a minute of sleep tonight," Dusk warned, looking up at the stars above.

"Yeah, I know..." Dawn sighed, also turning her head to the sky.

"So, Torchic's really coming with us, huh?"

"Excuse me!" Dawn yelled, "Her name is Ionu!"

Dusk couldn't help but laugh at his mistake. "All right, my bad."

The girl turned away from the stars. She found Dusk's chest more interesting and felt compelled to snuggle into it. She closed her eyes upon feeling comfortable. "I feel really bad for taking May's Pokémon, but at the same time--"

"You didn't want me to give Wizard to them," Dusk finished.

"Well...yeah..."

"You know something?" Dusk changed the subject. "I vaguely remember you promising me that if I 'patiently waited until today,' you were going to tell me what that note was about."

"...Note?" Dawn echoed curiously.

"The one that reminded you about having to tell me something," Dusk clarified. He sounded annoyed, though the emotion was somewhat restricted.

"Oh, that. Actually, I've already told you it." Dawn turned her seductive, innocent voice back on. "Do you want me to repeat it?"

Dusk blushed. He was thankful it was dark enough so Dawn couldn't see it--he found it embarrassing to blush just because of her tone. "Uhm...If you want to."

"...I love you, Umbreon."

"Mm...Now I need a good night kiss," he hinted at quietly.

She heard the request and happily complied, kissing him softly on his mouth.

The two returned to their previous positions. Dawn kept her right arm laying across Dusk's stomach, while her head stayed on his chest. Umbreon put a hand underneath his head for comfort, while the other one wrapped around Dawn's side so he could hold her closer. "I love you too."

Dawn seemed to ignore his statement. Her voice turned serious again. "Umbreon...I promise you that..."

"...Huh?" Dusk was confused why she had stopped there.

"Ah...Nevermind." Dawn yawned. "Good night, Umbreon..."

"No, what do you promise me?" Dusk asked impatiently, determined not to let Dawn fall asleep before he got an answer.

Dawn sat up, breaking the hold that the two had on each other. She kept her head low. "I promise you that...If you still want to, I will help you search for Nuclear, and Monkey, and I won't stop until they're found."

Dusk smirked. "You still remember Nuclear?" He paused while tilting his head up. The loose Pokémon, though upside-down from his current view, were enjoying one another's company. "Thanks, Dawn, but you know something? I think Wizard makes a really great substitution for a first Pokémon."

"But Monkey was you're--"

"Yeah, I know that, technically, Monkey was my first Pokémon, but I only got to see him once. I'll never forgive Team Galactic for taking the opportunity to bond with him away from me, but I'm sort of forced to just deal with it. Wizard, on the other hand..." Dusk was forced to stop talking, unable to contain laughter. "I mean, c'mon. I've barely known him for a week, and I couldn't have asked for a better Pokémon. Naturally, it's all thanks to you, too."

"No, Umbreon." Dawn smiled. "I'll revise something that somebody told me once. You and Wizard were meant to be together. I can't claim much credit for fate."

Dusk also grinned.

Though true, the dramatic statement killed the conversation. Time passed, and even though she settled back down into her human pillow, neither Dawn nor Dusk was able to get to sleep.

"So now what?" the boy wondered.

"Don't know..." Dawn replied, rather bored. "Tomorrow we'll try to make it to Sandgem. After we throw the Pokédexs in Rowan's face, I just want to stay at our place for awhile. Is that okay?"

"'Our' place, hm?"

"...Good night, Umbreon."

"Good night, Dawn."

They rolled their backs to each other in hopes it'd help them get to sleep. In a soothing voice, however, Dawn began singing, this time finishing a song she had previously started.

"...And all we wanna do...is have a good time...having lots of fun with all these friends of mine..." She curled up into a ball and smiled. Nothing except the thought of her hugging May back on Route 210 was flushing through her mind.

The night continued, and Dusk was finally lulled to sleep by Dawn's singing. Dawn eventually was, too.

Wizard abruptly ended his conversation with his Torchic friend and looked at the two humans. With his night-piercing vision, he easily saw that the two had drifted off into the land of dreams.

He smiled, then turned to Ionu. "Pikachu, pi," he solicited.

Ionu nodded and followed Wizard to the ground. She laid her head on the Pikachu's body, gratefully accepting Wizard's silent offer of being a pillow.

Together, the two Pokémon fell asleep. Wizard was the only one aware that he and Ionu were in identical positions with their respective Trainers. A firm smile marked his satisfaction with the fact.

---------------------------

Morning rose, and with it, weren't Dawn's eyes.

She had woken up, but instead of opening her eyes, Dawn kept them shut. "Wizard," she called out. "If you're drinking water from that pond over there, Umbreon is somewhere in the forest without me, and there's an injured Pokémon behind me, I _will_ hold myself underwater until I drown."

However, she finally opened her eyes when she didn't get a response. She looked around until she spotted Dusk next to Wizard, showing him how to do something. She sat up, but as a chilly wind blew through, she quickly dove for the grass again.

The wincing Trainer blindly picked through her bag, searching for her brush, but stopped when she felt a piece of paper. She poked her eyes open and looked at it. "_Oh! This is what May wrote her phone number on. Maybe I'll call her when we get to Jubilife and see if she made it to Hoenn safely!_" Dawn opened up the paper. A second upon observing it, however, a scream escaped from her mouth. "What?!"

Dusk heard this, dropped what he was doing, and ran over to his sitting companion. "Dawn? What is it?"

"Look at this!" She handed Dusk the paper, a confused, yet excited expression on her face.

He started reading the words slowly.

"_Two months from the Saturday that I gave you this note, is the 36th Annual Hoenn Contest...and we expect you to be there! Friends forever, -May._"

Two separate, dried water droplets dotted the area around the closing of the note, which Dusk assumed to be tears.

"What do you think, Umbreon? Can we go?"

"Of course we will, Dawn," he responded promptly. A sly grin covered his face. "By that time, we'll need to remind those two why you don't mess with the Sinnoh branch."

Dawn immediately jumped off of the ground, ignored the air that she found freezing, and hugged Dusk. "Thank you, Umbreon!"

"Guess we're really going to have to buckle down on our Coordinating skills..."

"I know that we can do it!" Dawn yelled in an excited attempt to increase both of their morales. "_Two months_..."

"All right, now. We got to get going. Make sure you're ready, and I'll beckon our slaves." Dusk walked over to the two Pokémon and explained that they had to leave soon.

Dawn closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying her hair getting picked up by another cool breeze. "..._Two months_..." she ran through her mind again.

After dusting herself off, Dawn only checked her holdall to make sure that she hadn't been pillaged during the night. Seeing that everything was in place, she gave a quick nod to Umbreon, and the team headed off on their way through Eterna Forest again.

The female giggled. "This is kinda weird. Last time, we had walked most of the forest by the time we went to sleep. Now we have to walk through the forest after we got up..."

Ionu rubbed her face against her new Trainer's cheek. "Torchic, Torchic!"

"Pika, Pika pi!" Wizard agreed from Dusk's shoulder.

Dawn laughed at the feathers as they tickled her face. "What were you three doing before I got up?"

"Oh, that? I was trying to teach Wizard how to start a campfire." Dusk shrugged. "I know that he shouldn't always rely on Ionu, but I can't believe how dense he is..." The comment earned him a fatal glare, along with sparks of electricity coming from the creature dangerously close to Dusk's face. "Honestly," the boy continued, "if he doesn't have anyone to rely on, he's just about screwed, anyway."

The forest become quiet to an unsettling degree. Dawn never stopped enjoying seeing Dusk and Wizard's unusual, yet never-ending friendship. Dusk was waiting for Wizard to make a move, but ended up doing nothing but smirking at the leer that his Pikachu kept up.

Dawn soon had enough silence. She lifted her numb hand, looked at it, and blinked. "I...I'm sorry, Umbreon. I...don't know why I still have this..."

He looked to see what she was talking about. Once he saw his own black glove still covering her hand, he began to laugh. "I guess I even forgot that I gave it to you."

"Well, it's not like I need it anymore." Dawn unstrapped the Velcro, then slid it off of her hand and offered it back to Dusk.

"...Still can't feel anything, huh?" he asked, afraid of the answer, as he accepted the glove back.

"It's fine, Umbreon! Really!"

"Dawn, I don't want you to start completely turning into May on me," he begged sternly. "A Cyndaquil burned my hand the first time; I don't really want a Typhlosion to do it the second."

"I...I know. It's just...so weird. When I think about how I could cover up with a warm blanket, or get nailed by a sledge hammer, and I wouldn't know the difference between the two, it just makes me wonder why...Mew..." Her voice trailed away. "...Celebi! Umbreon, we forgot to bring Celebi back into Eterna Forest!"

"I'm sure Celebi can find its way back fine. If it made it to the top of Coronet and back, it'll get here safely. Now finish your last sentence."

Dawn was slightly off-put by the lack of emotion in his demand, but she forgot about it and obeyed. "I'm just thankful that Mew gave me back most of my feeling, anyway..."

Dusk kept silent, as did the rest of the forest. Three minutes in, Dawn heaved a sigh.

"Misdreavus..."

"Pika..." Dusk looked at her curiously. "Pika pi?"

Dawn froze, blushing. "You weren't supposed to understand me!"

Dusk kissed her on the cheek to help with the embarrassment. "Sorry. I was just saying that if you're bored, there's got to be something we can talk about."

It was a struggle, but the Sinnoh-based half of Team Missile managed to keep casual conversation for the next couple of hours. They had also succeeded in making their way through Eterna Forest faster than they had last time. It was shortly after 10:00 when Dawn turned from her Pokétch to the cave in front of her.

"Just head through this, and we'll be at Jubilife," Dusk reminded her, taking a desired break from his walking.

She remained quiet, instead cycling through all of her Pokétch's apps.

"Pika?"

Dawn lifted her head up. She saw that Wizard's curious look was shared with his Trainer. Her eyes turned to the side, where Ionu was still perched on her shoulder. She also seemed to be wondering why Dawn was acting so silent. "Sorry...I'm just a little nervous about seeing Rowan again. In a way, I was hoping we would get lost in here for awhile, so we wouldn't be able to make it to Sandgem by tonight..."

Dusk took a quick glance back into the forest, then back on Dawn. "Well, we can give it another shot, if you want."

"No, that's quite all right," the girl laughed. "Besides, I don't even know why I'm nervous. I mean, you'll be right there..." Her voice trailed off, as did her eyes.

Umbreon trudged forward a few small paces. He was hoping he would be able to grab Dawn's attention, but it didn't work. "Dawn, do you think Rowan's going to...do something to you?"

"No!" she replied quickly, considering she was seemingly inattentive. "The thing is...Maybe I can't stand the guy, but he was the only one that put a roof over my head. Of course, I had to become his slave in the process, but still...And, besides, I hate quitting things once I started them. I just don't want to disappoint Rowan...That doesn't sound odd, does it?"

"...No," Dusk finally said after a long pause. "I have to admit, if it wasn't for him, I would have never got Chimchar, and...basically none of this would have happened. I suppose I owe something to him, too." The boy raised his head to the sky, but turned his eyes to Dawn. "So...what do you want to do?"

"Don't know..." Dawn ran forward and hugged her boyfriend. The sudden movement shook Ionu from her perch.

She landed on the ground hard, then looked up to see that her Trainer had barely noticed. Ionu muttered curses under her breath, which was stopped only when Wizard gently hopped down from Dusk's shoulder and ran over to help her.

"I guess...it wouldn't be a terrible thing to keep the Pokédexs," Dawn continued, rubbing the side of her head on Dusk's shoulder. "We'll just tell him that we won't be in contact until he's almost ready to leave Sinnoh...That way, we can keep doing our jobs and not have to deal with Rowan along the way. It should make all of us happy."

"Sounds good to me...So, any particular reason that you moved from my neck to my shoulder?"

Dawn giggled, but left it at that.

As much as they didn't want to, Dusk and Dawn forcefully interrupted the moment for the sake of pressing onward. It took nearly five minutes for Ionu to listen to Dawn's apology, and double that to accept it. The bird still wasn't pleased, but ended up riding on Dawn's shoulder again anyway.

Once past the forgettable cavern, the group headed south until they reached Jubilife City for the third time during their journey. The Town was active, buzzing with crowds everywhere, but neither Dusk nor Dawn minded much. At first, they were going to head straight through the city. The plans changed when they came across the Italian restaurant. The boy's impatient belly growled, demanding that they stop for a brunch.

"Ah! Madam, fine sir! I believe you have partaken here before, no?"

"Weegie!" Dusk exclaimed, smiling at the familiar host. "What's up?"

"Ceiling, yes?" he chuckled. "I am afraid that there was a minor misunderstanding at the last meal, sir."

"Uhm...Misunderstanding?" Dusk blinked.

"It seems as though you had forgotten to pay for your meals."

Dawn quickly turned to Dusk and slapped him. "You forgot to pay for the food?!" she screamed.

Ionu, being on her shoulder, was somewhat dazed by the shout.

"Uhm...Si?" Dusk cringed.

"Ho ho ho!" Luigi laughed. "I normally angry at customers who no pay for food, yes? But for you two, I make exception."

Dawn calmed back down. "...What? Why?"

"Oh! Surely you mustn't be so modest! You are the two who has caught the criminal, 'Giovanni,' no?"

Luigi's strong accent as he pronounced Giovanni's name almost made Dusk laugh, but he managed to stop himself. "Uh, yeah. If 'caught' is the word that you want to use." He looked at Dawn in confusion, but got nothing except his own expression back at him. He faced Luigi again. "How do you know about that?"

"You sit where you like, and I shall come get your order in a minuto, yes? I also bring TV box and show you."

The Sinnoh Trainers looked at each other a second time. "O...kay," Dawn finally spoke out.

As they walked into the restaurant, everybody saw them and began clapping and cheering for them.

Dawn, slightly frightened by the sudden uproar, grabbed a tighter hold of Dusk's hand. "What's...uhm..."

"Geez, was Giovanni really that big of a criminal?"

They finally sat down at a table for four. Dusk and Wizard sat on one side, with Dawn and Ionu on the other. Since the tablecloth was blocking their view of each other while they were sitting, the Pokémon laid down in the chairs and started communicating with each other under the table.

The dramatic welcome finally died down a bit. Luigi entered into the room, wheeling a large tray. He walked over to the two heroes and turned the tray sideways, allowing them to see the biggest, roasted fried chicken seemingly possible. Lettuce surrounded the rest of the plate for cosmetics, along with just a hint of Italian salad dressing on the side. "Complements of the chef..." He chuckled. "...Me."

Dawn and Dusk stared wide-eyed at the massive feast. "You're...giving that to us?" Dawn blinked.

Luigi set the two heavy plates in front of both of the Trainers, then gave a very large glass of lemonade to each of them as well. "And finally, the television box." Luigi bent down to the lower-level tray and lifted up a portable television, turning it on to Jubilife TV.

"...And, as we've brought you at 5, 5:30, 6, 8, 8:45, and 9, here's the same exact story again!" the news lady introduced, "Redford Giovanni, the leader of many different criminal syndicates, has been found and pronounced dead. Apparently, two teenagers tracked him down to the very top of Mount Coronet, demanded a Pokémon battle, and quite obviously, they must have won. One of the two people that brought this story to us, known only as 'the Hoenn Trainers,' has a remark on this. He insisted that we didn't mention his name, nor show his face."

The screen went black, spare a blue bar on the bottom. 'The Hoenn Trainer' was written in white font inside of the bar. "Yeah, them two, uh..."

A wide smile came to Dawn's face. She looked at Dusk, making sure he knew who that voice was. He was too busy blinking at the screen to take notice of her.

"We met up with these two when Thing Two and I were crossing the bottom of Mount Coronet ourselves. They told us that they had beaten Giovanni in a barbaric battling game, so hey, why not? They deserve a bit 'a spotlight, don't they?"

The news lady came back on the TV. "Indeed they do." The camera, once again, cut to a different screen. This time, it was one that had two pictures on it--one with Wizard and Dusk, the other, Ionu and Dawn. "These are the two heroes that finally ended Giovanni's reign of terror. Make sure to give them a nice pat on the back if you see them, huh? We'll be back in a minute." The news cut to a commercial break.

Luigi wheeled the TV away, leaving the Trainers by themselves.

"Wow..." Dawn chuckled. "I don't really know what's scarier. That Brendan did it, how Brendan did it, or why Brendan did it."

"...Or how he got a picture of both of us without us even knowing?" Dusk suggested.

"...Yeah, that probably takes it." Dawn pierced a few pieces of lettuce with her fork. "I feel kinda bad, though...I mean, we're taking alot of the credit for this when that's really not true. I mean, look how much help we had."

Only a moment passed, and Dusk sighed. "This will be fun to explain to Mom..."

Dawn took her eyes away from the meat, instead looking up to her friend. "What do you mean?"

"That lady just told Sinnoh to pat me on the shoulder because I killed somebody."

"Oh..." Dawn tried so hard, but wasn't able to mask a couple giggles. Umbreon dealt her a death glare, to which she did nothing but laugh harder at. "I'm sorry, Umbreon!" she defended, wiping off her mouth with a neatly-folded napkin. "C'mon, you have to admit that when you put it in the perspective that you did, it's a little funny."

Dusk rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, my side's splitting."

The afternoon continued. Luigi returned to the table to ask if they'd like anything else, but they declined and left, thanking him for forgiving the previous bill. They began walking towards Sandgem Town yet again.

"So...I guess we're super heroes now?" Dawn smirked.

Dusk wrapped his arm around Dawn's back. "Only if we get our own merchandise."

For the first time in what seemed like eons, they reached Route 201. Dawn, once more, carried a sly grin around with her. That always worried Dusk.

She set Ionu on the ground. "Wizard, do you want to go on the ground too?"

"...Pika?" He blinked at her, then looked down at Ionu. Still confused, he climbed down Dusk's back and stood next to the Torchic.

"What's the differ--"

Dawn slapped Umbreon on the back of the head, knocking his beret to the ground. "Tag." She quickly bolted away.

"Urghh..." Dusk growled, picking his beret back up. "Don't you start with this, Dawn!" He chased after her.

Wizard beamed. Brendan was gone, but the mouse knew that it was his time to shine. He pointed his jagged tail up to the air and got down on all fours, then looked at Ionu. "Pi PiPikachu?"

"Chic!" She jumped on Wizard's back and grabbed on to his tail with her beak, gaining some balance on him in the process.

He darted off after the Trainers. "Pika Pika!" he warned the remaining racers.

Dawn jumped over a brown-furred Pokémon which was laying in the grass. "Watch for the Bidoof!"

"What Bidoo--" Despite the warning, Dusk tripped over the same object that he had last time. His face was the first thing that hit the ground.

Dawn stopped running and laughed. "Atleast if you piss off a couple more Starly, we're a bit more prepared than last time."

In agony, Dusk sluggishly rose to his feet. He didn't mind as the Bidoof he had tripped over scampered away, terrified of the event. "You can always find the silver lining, can't you?"

As Dawn was about to retaliate, the two were interrupted when a Pikachu blazed by them.

Both Trainers looked at each other and blinked. Soon, they smiled, agreeing to a truce until they beat Wizard. Dusk scurried onto his feet and the race continued.

-------------------------

It was dark out by the time they reached the entrance to Sandgem Town. Dusk and Wizard were out of breath; Dawn was, too, but she showed no signs of caring. She was too anxious about meeting Rowan again to think about a detail like that. "So...we'll be in and out, right?"

Dusk looked at her. "...Dawn? Why are you so worried?"

Dawn cradled Ionu with one arm and petted her with the other. "I just have something like a premonition..."

"Oh..." Dusk coughed. For once, he wasn't sure how to cheer her up. "Well, I hear that girls get them a lot."

"Umbreon!!" Dawn screeched. She tried pushing him with her numb arm, but the result didn't have much strength. "It's not a girl thing! A premonition is a..." Her loud, angered voice backed off in favor of an insecure, quiet one. "...It's a feeling. Like, somehow you know that something's going to happen. And...my premonition isn't really good right now..." She sighed, then forced Umbreon to watch as she began walking away. "I'm sorry. It probably all seems stupid to you. Let's just get this done."

Dusk and Wizard shared a glance. With neither overflowing with confidence, they gave a slow chase after Dawn. Wizard gave himself permission to rest on Umbreon's shoulder.

The bell attached to the laboratory's door rang as Dawn pushed it open. She looked back, waiting for her friend to catch up. When he did, she gave the door to him and walked into the building. There was a lone soul inside, standing as usual in the back of the room, turned away from the door.

The bell going off didn't interest the professor very much. He didn't turn around until the footsteps stopped behind him. "Dawn? Umbreon?" he questioned once he saw the familiar figures, "What are you doing back in Sandgem? There's not many different kinds of Pokémon here. If you're going to fill those Pokédexs, you must travel and look in different places."

Dawn gulped. She hated how fast her heart rate was, but tried not to let her fear show. "Actually, we just came to give you an update..."

"Is that right." Appearing disinterested, Rowan turned back around and continued eyeing a book that was on his desk. "Leave the Pokédexs on the table, then. I'll take a look through them tomorrow. Umbreon, it's getting late, so you may stay here if--"

"A-actually..." the girl repeated, her eyes on the floor and her thumb stroking Ionu. "That's...not quite the update I meant. We're...um..."

"We want to learn things for ourselves," Dusk covered, taking a single step forward. "As Trainers, we shouldn't have the feeling of security that you give us. We need to be on our own. Besides, you're a busy man, and for us to call all the time and interrupt you would be ludi--"

"You know, you could just say that you don't want to talk to me anymore," Rowan interrupted, turning back around. "That would have been much quicker than whatever you were trying to get across was."

"Uh..." Dusk blinked. "Okay. It works too."

The Pokémon Professor looked at his apprentice. Her head still wasn't tilted any higher than the floor. "Dawn, you look disappointed. You came all this way to tell me that I get in your way, and now you're unsure of it?"

Ionu looked up to her Trainer. She cheeped, but it was ignored. "I...I don't know. Umbreon, I never told you this, but Professor Rowan found me in Snowpoint City..."

Dusk jerked to her. "You were up north?"

Biting her lip, Dawn nodded her head. She still couldn't peel her eyes away from the floor. "I don't think I really could have survived for much longer. The Professor saved my life. To hear him put words like those in our mouths...It hurts."

"...Hmph." The doctor turned around once again. Unlike before, his head didn't bow as he read a book. "I was simply doing what any decent father would do."

Dusk froze. Wizard gasped. Dawn remained blank. She did succeed in lifting her head to look at Rowan, though.

"Oh...You never told me that you had kids," she said innocently.

Wizard rolled off of Dusk's shoulder, landing painfully on the ground. The only thing that hurt more was his Co-Trainer's denseness. "Piikaaa..." he moaned due to the latter.

Rowan itched the back of his head while Dusk slapped himself in the face. Dawn curiously looked back and forth between the two. "What?"

"Erm..." Rowan coughed.

"Dawn, May was supposed to be the blond one in the team...We don't need two."

As Dawn turned to counter the unnecessary comment, Rowan spoke up to fill in the missing piece. He faced the two once more, deeming it important to do so. "Dawn, you had no way to know this, but I am your father."

Tears came to Dawn's eyes. She had trouble saying much of anything. "...What?" she whispered hoarsely.

"Yes..." he said gruffly, lacking most kinds of emotion. "At first, I didn't even recognize it was you." He smiled a little. Dusk shuddered, but Dawn was too frozen to recognize the creepy smirk. "But, after you told me your name, I only needed to take a quick look at your hair color to realize who I had just employed."

Dawn slowly blinked twice. Tears accompanied them both times. "Do you think this is some kind of sick joke?" she wondered, still unable to increase the volume of her voice. "You can't be my father...My last name isn't Rowan..."

"You're correct. It's not." Rowan turned around and shut the book he had been reading, then walked over to a bookshelf to pull out another one. "Your mother had your name changed to Walker after we decided that we couldn't save our marriage, which was soon after you were born."

"_Dawn Walker?_" Dusk thought, though he didn't dare to say anything.

"She then supposedly remarried to somebody, who gave you a sister," Rowan went on. "I can't say that I know much more about that. Understandably, I began to lose interest in the family after I was forced to leave."

"Ashley...was only...a half-sister?" Dawn stepped back. After her mind became slightly less paralyzed, she pounded a foot on the ground. "No...This...It can't be true. Why don't I remember any of this? I don't remember my mother ever getting married again, and I certainly don't remember her telling me any stories about you..."

"Then did you know that you've known Umbreon since you were a baby?" Rowan asked.

Dawn and Dusk looked at each other. "Wh...What?" Dawn replied, just as nervously as everything else was coming out.

"Mm...Your mother kept everything from you, didn't she..." Rowan turned again to the book shelf, where he reinserted the book he had just taken out. Once finished, he shifted back to the Sinnoh Trainers. "We've known Johanne's family for an incredibly long time. I used to work with that boy's father."

"You know my father?!" Dusk finally spoke up.

"Oh, yes, quite well. Until the day he decided to up and leave, of course," Rowan corrected himself. His words turned back to Dawn. "If memory serves, you, your mother and I went to an outdoor picnic that Johanne had arranged, specifically for you two, newborns at the time, to meet one another. After that, I don't believe that we have seen them since. I confess to playing coy with you when we first met, Umbreon--I assure you that I knew much about you before I interviewed you, and I was most definitely aware of where your name comes from."

Dusk remained silent. He had questions, but knew that Dawn deserved the spotlight to herself right now.

"If you're all finished, I was about to turn in for the night," Rowan stated. He walked forward, refusing to stop until he reached Dawn's winded body. He set a hand on her shoulder. "Forgive me for not playing a bigger role in your life, Dawn. If you--"

Dawn pushed Rowan's arm off of her with her own. "Don't talk to me..." She turned around and instantly assaulted Dusk with a hug. Constant tears and sobs were the only things that followed.

Though stunned at first, Umbreon wrapped his arms around Dawn's body and pulled her in close. He looked to Rowan with an unknowing expression.

"...Very well," the Professor finally spoke, "Umbreon. Be good to my girl. Never let her forget that if she ever feels like talking to me again, she knows my number. Likewise, my door shall remain open for the both of you. You may keep the Pokédexs. I would appreciate them back before my trip to Kanto, though I would understand if that doesn't come to pass."

Rowan glanced at a clock that was conveniently on the wall that he was facing. His eyes returned to Dusk's. "You may stay here as long as you need to. Don't worry about locking the door." He began walking off, toward the opposite direction of the front door. "You might be surprised by how few criminals try to break in here. In any case, I bid you good night."

Dusk watched as the Professor slipped behind a door that the boy hadn't noticed beforehand. He wasn't able to comprehend how someone could relay a message like that and have almost no emotion doing it, but he understood that he had other things to worry about.

Returning his head forward, Dusk tried placing his eyes on Dawn's shoulder, though he landed instead on her vest. "Dawn, I--"

"Just hold me..." she mumbled out through the crying.

Dusk quieted and did as he was told.

Ionu, who had basically been forgotten about in favor of Dawn and Dusk's embrace, scampered over to Wizard. The understanding mouse held her in a hug. "Torchic, chic..." she stated quietly.

"Pika..." Wizard replied in the same volume, slowly patting Ionu's back.

Half an hour passed. Dusk couldn't believe how bored he was, having to hold a physically shaking Dawn but being silenced while doing so. He understood that many things were running through Dawn's head, and his voice would only make it worse.

The two Pokémon were sitting on the floor. Wizard, though deeply concerned about his Co-Trainer's well-being, was starting to doze off. She was tempted to shout that she was just as bored as Dusk was, but for the first time, Ionu silenced her feelings and let her new owner weep in peace.

"...U-Umbre-reon..." the girl finally muttered. Crying had removed nearly all sound to her voice. "Please...get me out of here..."

"Okay," he swiftly replied. He whistled, catching the attention of the Pokémon, and started heading for the door. "C'mon...Let's go home for awhile." Still holding Dawn tightly, Umbreon started walking towards the exit of the building. Ionu popped up and chased after them. A sleepy Wizard rounded up the rear.

Though Dawn was still attached, Dusk pushed the door open and walked out into the fresh, nighttime air. He made sure the Pokémon had made it through before shutting it and, taking Rowan's advice, not locking it. He headed toward the western exit to Sandgem Town, knowing that their final destination of their first adventure was the same Town that it had started in.

--

**A/N: **Did you enjoy the story? Though, if you made it this far, there's a good chance that you don't hate the story, at least.

Providing you did enjoy reading this, please feel free to check out "Only A Madman," the sequel to It Takes a Genius. Only A Madman is a bit darker in nature than this story was, but if you're a fan of Team Missile, I think you'll still like it. So, will I see you there?


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